Staffing cuts still in works for Jefferson County

Belt-tightening extends to fleet

PINE BLUFF -- The county judge in Jefferson County asked elected officials and department heads last month to cut one position from their payrolls to help address county budget concerns, but departments are struggling to decide how, or if, cuts can be made.

Gerald Robinson told officials during his "state of the county" address that an aggressive cost-cutting strategy is needed because a decline in population and the loss of businesses has severely strained the budget. He described the situation as being so dire that Jefferson County could go broke within two years if drastic changes aren't made now.

According to Robinson, $6 million of the current $8.9 million in the county budget is earmarked for salaries, and there is no money in reserve.

"If anything happens -- a tornado, a flood, anything -- we can't do anything about it," Robinson said. "We're stuck."

Robinson has cut two full-time positions from the road department, one full-time position from the health department, and one part-time position from the recycling department. That accounted for an annual savings of $69,000 in the county general fund and about $90,000 in the road department fund.

Eliminating those positions resulted in the layoffs of four part-time employees and one full-time employee. The road department didn't fill an opening left by a retiring employee, and the other slot that was eliminated had been filled with three part-time workers.

Robinson also cut 20 vehicles from the county fleet, which he said will bring in an estimated $200,000 when the vehicles are sold at auction. The county should save about $26,000 in insurance costs and another $3,000 in maintenance expenses annually, he said.

"We are still in the process of evaluating our fleet countywide to see where more cuts might be made," he said.

Robinson also is considering exploring the idea of combining some county offices, which he said could result in substantial savings.

Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties, said any move to combine offices would take time and in some cases might not be feasible.

"With the sheriff and collector, those duties have diverged so much over time so it's harder to keep those together," Villines said. "The collector and treasurer seem to be more in line with similar-type duties, so we've seen some growth in that area."

Responses varied among county offices on the progress they have made in cutting staffs and expenses.

No action has been taken in the county clerk's office, which has seven employees and a budget of just more than $500,000. County Clerk Shawndra Taggart said the office had cut two positions before Robinson's Jan. 15 request, which resulted in a savings of just less than $65,000.

"I've cut two, the previous clerk cut two, so if you walk into this office you'll probably see more seats than employees," Taggart said.

Tax assessor Yvonne Humphrey said she has an open slot since the retirement of her appraisal manager, and she plans to eliminate it.

"I've gone before the Quorum Court to do that, and some money will go back into county general," Humphrey said.

She said cutting from her budget won't necessarily help shore up the county general fund. Most of the $630,660 of her budget that comes from the county general fund is reimbursed by the school districts through property taxes, Humphrey said, and an additional $517,536 the office receives for its reappraisal budget is mostly funded from the state.

That means the $53,000 salary received previously by an in-house appraisal manager -- which will now go to pay an outside company for the same service -- will have minimal impact.

"Only the fringe benefits will be cut," Humphrey said. "That is the only part that comes from county general."

Tax Collector Tony Washington said any cuts made by his office also would have minimal impact because, like the county assessor and the county treasurer, his budget is reimbursed through property tax receipts. The office receives commissions from the amount collected for school districts that total close to $1 million annually, he said.

"His thing is he wants everyone to cut a person from their office, but we pay the county back 100 percent of our budget," Washington said. "I told him there's no benefit to cutting a person in our office, but I'm not going to be the bad guy. If the Quorum Court says we have to cut a person, then I'll figure out how to do it and keep the office running."

The tax collector's office has seven employees and a budget of $505,000, and cutting any staff member would create difficulties, Washington said.

"Because of all the money we collect, we have to keep a separation of duties to maintain the necessary checks and balances," he said. "If I have to cut a person, that will make it become very difficult to maintain those checks and balances."

County Treasurer Vonysha Goodwin said the retirement last year of one of her two employees left the office with an open position that hasn't been filled.

"I kind of knew something was coming, so I have not replaced her from the beginning of the year," Goodwin said. "Since he's asking everyone to cut one slot, I guess that is the one I'll cut."

Goodwin said maintaining only a two-person office poses significant problems in keeping a separation of duties necessary for a robust system of checks and balances.

"It's going to be very hard to maintain, especially if one person calls in sick or takes vacation," Goodwin said. "It only leaves one person to staff the office. ... It is going to make an impact, but we're going to try and make do the best we can."

Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. and Circuit Clerk Lafayette Woods, Sr. did not return calls from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

State Desk on 02/17/2019

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