By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

With the Ellis County Commission continuing to face a budget shortfall in 2016, the county could be forced to raise taxes.

The commission held a special meeting Monday morning to continue working through the budget process, and each department once again presented the commission with their requests for 2016.

Also at the meeting was Ken Beran from Adams Brown Beran and Ball Certified Public Accountants. The group was brought in last week to help the commission with the budget process with the resignation of County Administrator Greg Sund effective at the end of the week. ABBB conducted the county’s audit and worked with previous commissions on the budget before Sund was hired.

Beran told the commission that, in 2014, the county spent $300,000 more than what was previously budgeted for, leaving the county short that amount for 2015. That is on top of the almost $2 million decline in revenue resulting from the drop in oil prices.

Beran estimated the commission would have to raise the mill levy to 38.92 from 34.2 to make up the $300,000 deficit.

The county raised $14.5 million in 2014 at the 34.2 mill levy, he said. If the mill levy remained the same, as the commission has stated as its goal, county tax revenues would be $12.7 million.

To make up that difference on the revenue side of the ledger, the county would have to raise the mill levy to at least 41 — or cut more than $2 million from its expense budget.

In the current 2016 budget draft, Beran said he saw a number of discrepancies with both expected revenues and expenditures in the proposed 2016 budget. He said there were projected increases budgeted for without any data backing up those increases. Beran was going to look over the information and projects before offering additional recommendations.

Commission Chairwoman Marcy McClelland asked if raising the mill to 38 would keep providing services at the current level

“I don’t really want to raise it, but I can’t see where we can get by without,” she said.

Commissioner Dean Haselhorst said he believes there are places within each county department’s budget that can be cut.

“If you don’t want cut anything out of your department, your mill levy is going to go up, your property tax is going to go up,” Haselhorst said. “I don’t know anybody out in the county that is going to raise their hand and jump up and down and say ‘Please raise my property tax on my house some more.’ ”

Haselhorst said the county also will have to look at reducing funding for outside agencies. Sund said outside agency funding was reduced to 2012 levels last year, with the exception of the ACCESS Transportation, which was cut at a much more dramatic level.

Beran also has issue with the amount of money the county has saved in the Capital Equipment Reserve Fund. He says as of May there was $2.9 million. EMS, the Sheriff’s Department and Road and Bridge make up the majority of the fund.

The commission instructed county department heads to get their proposed cuts to Beran by next week with the intent of having another meeting in two weeks.

In other business:

• The commission held two executive sessions regarding non-elected personnel matters. One of the sessions included Randy Gustafson, former Hays City Manager who retired in 2007.

• Appointed Haselhorst as the construction liaison to handle issues that arise with the Courthouse/LEC and Emergency Services projects. Sund handled those duties before announcing his resignation.

• Approved three construction change orders at the Courthouse/Law Enforcement Center, one allowing for an extra 10 days of contruction time. MW Builders has asked for another 48 days but the commission wants to negotiate that request.