Supervisors make $75,000 in cuts to current budget

by Doug Thompson
Faced with increasing cuts from the Commonwealth and the threat of even more reductions in the future, Floyd County Supervisors Tuesday reduced the current fiscal year’s budget by more than $75,000 and braced for more problems in the coming months.
The reductions came as Social Services Director Carl Ayers reported applications from county residents for assistance are reaching all-time highs as those who have never needed help in the past seek aid.
“These are not people who normally seek welfare,“ Ayers told the trustees. “These are people who have worked all of their lives but lost their jobs and their unemployment benefits have run out.“
Ayers said applications for benefit rose 44 percent in Floyd County since 2005 and requests for food stamps are up 115 percent since 2001. He said his office must deal with the increase in requests for aid at the same time that the federal government is reducing funding for assistance by 40 percent.
“When someone comes in, applies for assistance, and meets the criteria, we have to find a way to help them,“ Ayers said.
Ayers said requests for energy assistance have also increased.  He said the increases in Floyd County are in line with statewide averages.
The report from Ayers came as Supervisors reluctantly approved cuts in the current budget for the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Sheriff, Treasurer, Circuit Clerk, Commissioner of Revenue and Electoral Board.
The Sheriff’s Office took the biggest monetary cut, losing $41,257: $14,000 in the fraud reduction program; $10,000 in tire purchases for patrol cars; $9,000 for maintenance & services; $4,000 for part time help, $1,882 for uniforms, $1,500 for radio equipment and $875 for travel.
The Clerk’s office lost $5,853 for maintenance of its image system for county records; $4,128 for state compensation board reimbursement for office expenses; $2,546 for a remote access system for records and $917 for a supplemental power supply.
The Treasurer’s office lost $5,880 for part time employees.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office lost $2,319 for part-time help; $800 for office supplies; $700 for mileage reimbursement; $700 for books, $450 for travel; $437 for the cost of collections and $200 for dues and subscriptions.
The Electoral Board office lost $4,159 for election judges and $842 for voting machine custodians.
The Commissioner of Revenue lost $4,574 for part time employees.
The board let county officials submit their own proposals for reductions and followed those recommendations in adjusting the budget on Tuesday.
As part of the cuts absorbed by his department,  Sheriff Shannon Zeman recently told organizations that they would have to pay for overtime for deputies to provide security at special events. Sponsors of the upcoming “Dickens of a Night” celebration in Floyd asked the board to give the Sheriff’s Department the funds to cover the cost for their event, but the board did not act on the request and will not meet again until after the event.
Courthouse Supervisor Jerry W. Boothe said granting the request would “open the gates” for more requests from other organizations and the county could not afford to fund all the requests.
While the board dealt with bad budget news for the current fiscal year, they received a clean bill of health from Brown, Edwards & Company in the annual audit.
Billy Robinson of the auditing firm told the board that the county is in much better shape financially than a lot of other local governments, “particular in these tough times.“
Robinson said the county reduced its overall debt in the previous year.
Unlike other areas, Robinson said, Floyd County has “had to deal with less money” for several years and is in better shape to weather the expected hard times in the future.
In a related budget matter, Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Highway Engineer Bob Beasley told the board that his office expects to receive their formal notice of closure and termination the first week of January.  The Hillsville office is scheduled for closure as part of a realignment by VDOT. The agency has already closed one of two maintenance shops in Floyd County and reduced maintenance on state roads.