Island County’s early budget draft aims to restore a number of positions and pushes for upgrades in technology.
A public hearing for the budget draft is set for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6.
A dozen or so full- and part-time positions were approved in the preliminary budget, jobs that fell victim to the economic recession that began in 2008.
Commissioner Helen Price Johnson, who was in office during the severe staffing and service cuts made by the county in 2009, said she is grateful the county is now in a position to begin restoring services.
“We’re trying to get back to really meeting the needs of the community,” Price Johnson said.
Proposed staffing increases include an assessor trainee, a part-time auditor’s office position, a facilities maintenance technician, a part-time night custodian, a building inspector, an administrative assistant and a corrections officer.
Last year, the county’s biggest priority was law and justice, funding four deputy positions. Two more deputies have been funded in this year’s preliminary budget as well.
Earlier this year, the county was able to reopen on Fridays in departments that had been closed to the access due to lack of staffing.
Price Johnson said another priority is taking care of the county’s backlog of information technology infrastructure.
Without additional staffing, software upgrades and bandwidth, the county doesn’t have the capability to offer necessary services, Price Johnson said.
Technology upgrades tentatively funded include a total of $180,000 in one-time money for website development and engineering, content migration, and updated data protection software and equipment.
The county is also looking to allot $239,000 in ongoing funding for increased internet capacity, a data management system and a SharePoint developer position.
In other departments, commissioners approved a one time allocation of $174,120 to Public Health to make up for budgetary shortfalls.
In recent years, Public Health Director Keith Higman had to ask the county to supplement his budget, which primarily relies on state grants and permit income. Increasing costs and static income levels has created an increasing deficit in his budget, he told commissioners.
During last year’s budget process, the commissioners gave Public Health $415,000.
District Court is tentatively funded to add a metal detector and security at its entrance, costing $40,000 in one-time expense and $50,000 in ongoing costs.
Budget Director Elaine Marlow said the commissioners tried to use alternative funding whenever possible to avoid depleting the general fund. These funding sources include real estate excise tax and county road funds.
Commissioner Jill Johnson sent an email to department heads Thursday reminding them that the budget, as it stands, is preliminary and may change.
Johnson said she believes the budget is $100,000 to $150,000 “too aggressive” and will be looking to make some cuts.
“It is important to me that I ensure everyone understands that what is proposed right now might not make it through,” Johnson said.
