By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission on Monday voted to approve the 2017 budget.

The county began working in March on the budget, facing a $3.7 million deficit. As a way to reduce the shortfall, the commission asked each department to cut 3.3-percent and trimmed funding to outside agencies.

Following a public hearing, the budget approved by the commission contains general fund spending of $23.5 million and the general fund mill levy will remain the same as last year at 36.7. The tax levy is $13,298,109.

Among the highlights are a $500,000 transfer to Road and Bridge’s Special Highway fund, $233,000 for the contingency fund and $138,000 for three new positions at the county jail.

In order to pay for the three funds, the commission at Monday’s meeting agreed to transfer almost $16,500 from the County Treasurer’s budget. County Treasurer Ann Pfeifer was not at the meeting.

Pfeifer told Hays Post on Tuesday after speaking with County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes, she believes the funds cut from the treasurer’s budget Monday is on top of the $5,000 her department had already agreed to cut and the 4.9 percent cut from the previous fiscal year.

She said her department will do the best it can with the funds provided but said she “is concerned that we may not be able to do all of the duties required by statute.”

At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Barb Wasinger said she wanted to see the treasurer’s office cut $50,000 but would settle for less than that.

“We had specifically asked the treasurer to maybe come up with $50,000 helping with the jailers, and she came up with five ($5,000), and I was hoping we could maybe meet halfway at 25 ($25,000),” Wasinger said.

Smith-Hanes and the commission agreed if the Treasurer’s Office experiences a shortfall, the county could use money from the contingency fund to cover a possible deficit.

During the budget process, the commission was adamant about setting up funds for public works construction projects. Without the cuts to the treasurer’s budget, the county would not have been able to transfer the full $500,000 to the Special Highway Fund. Without the transfer, the fund would still have more than $483,000 left for 2017.

“We’ve robbed from them (Road and Bridge) for the last five years I’ve been here,” said Commissioner Dean Haselhorst.

According to the Treasurer’s Department, through the motor vehicle fund collected $250,000 in 2015. The treasurer, during an average year, according to Smith-Hanes, transfers about $10,000 to the general fund although in 2015 the department transferred more than $50,000.

Haselhorst also wanted to know about cutting some of the funds given to the Ellis County Economic Development Coalition because he said, “I don’t know if I’m getting our bang for our back, I feel.”

But Smith-Hanes noted that all but two outside agencies received a 3.3-percent reduction in funding.

The commission also approved a 0.43 mill increase for Rural Fire District 1. The raise affects residents of Schoenchen and unincorporated areas of Ellis County.

The commission had originally wanted a slightly larger increase, but Smith-Hanes said while entering the figures on a state form, he entered the wrong number in one place.

The increased funds will still be used to pay for call-out pay for training and for automatic aid with the city of Hays. Smith-Hanes said Fire Chief Darin Myers delayed a portion of a transfer to the equipment reserve fund.

Smith-Hanes said the fund will be used to purchase two new rescue trucks, but they would only have had the money to purchase one in 2017 anyway, so the mistake would not affect those plans.

According to Smith-Hanes, the county’s assessed valuation was only down 2.2 percent and the cuts made by the county and the less-than-anticipated decline in valuation “allows us to present a fairly stable budget picture for 2017.”

Valuation in Fire District No. 1 was hit much harder by the decline in oil valuation and that led to the mill levy increase.

In other business, auditors from Adams Brown Berean and Ball presented the county commission and the public building commission with the annual audit.

Commissioners approved an agreement with the Kansas Heart and Stroke Collaborative.

Commissioners approved membership in the National Joint Powers Alliance. Membership in the alliance will allow the county to purchase discounted software.