After weeks of slashing costs and raising revenue projections, the Knox County Finance Committee has whittled away the county’s $1.2 million general fund deficit.
The budget is balanced and no jobs were cut — at least for this year.
Chairman Greg Bacon told the committee last night he wasn’t convinced the jobs kept this year will be safe next year.
“We’ve accomplished something by doing it and saving jobs right now,” Bacon said, “but we haven’t accomplished what we need to accomplish. There’s still a long ways to go here.”
As of last week, the county deficit sat at $220,000.
Rather than make personnel cuts, the finance committee found $154,000 in projected revenue increases and $37,000 in expense cuts.
Bacon says the added revenue comes from a deal brokered by Sheriff Dave Clague that ups the number of federal inmates the Knox County jail will house from five to 10.
That spells about $122,000 in extra revenue paid to the county for holding the out of county inmates. The rest of the new revenue comes from a projected increase to the EAV and changes made in the county’s GIS department.
The $37,000 in expense cuts comes mostly from a Sheriff’s Department patrol position being left unfilled.
Contingency money fronted through the county landfill is covering the remaining $29,000 deficit.
Bacon says the county plans to find exactly where their financials sit early next year.
“We’re gonna hire a firm to come in and do a study of the county to see where we’re at before we go into making layoffs,” Bacon says.
The committee will vote on the budget November 18th.
