Skip to content

County OKs $796,000 transfer

The Fayette County Board on Tuesday approved another transfer from the county’s capital improvement fund, one that is much larger than past fund loans.
And much of that latest loan will be spent to meet the county’s current financial obligations.
The board approved in a 9-3 vote a loan of up to $796,000 from the county’s capital improvement fund, and in another 9-3 vote, it gave County Treasurer Rose Hoover the authority to transfer the funds.
That transfer includes up to $600,000 to the general fund, $75,000 to the county’s liability account and $121,000 to the workers’ compensation fund.
In recent years, the county has made $250,000 transfers from the capital improvement fund in order to meet payroll and other financial obligations. That fund was created after the county sold its coal rights for about $5.5 million about 10 years ago.
It began making transfers to meet payroll and other expenses in 2010.
In bringing the measures up for a vote on Tuesday, board Chairman Jeff Beckman said that the idea of a larger transfer gives Hoover more funds, as needed, to take care of expenses, hopefully preventing the need to make several transfers.
“We’re laying it out there at the beginning, instead of (transfers of) $250,000, $500,000 … whatever,” Beckman said.
There was an extended period of silence after Beckman asked for a motion on the interfund loan.
Board member Wade Wilhour asked to table to measure for 48 hours, with the board taking up the issue at a special meeting.
As he pressed on with that request, Beckman and board member Jenny Waggoner both asked Wilhour what would change in 48 hours, and he said that it would allow the board to discuss the issue further at a special meeting.
Wilhour said he believes that if the county was going to continue to transfer funds in this manner, it should “do it case by case, so it’s aired out in front of the whole board.
“If you vote for this, you take all of the accountability out it,” he said, speaking against transferring a large amount at one time instead of individual transfers at different times.
Hoover explained to the board that a transfer is needed at this time to allow the county to keep operating.
She said that there was a $105,000 deficit in the general fund at the end of November, and that by the end of December, that deficit had grown to $342,000.
Hoover also said that the county has pending bills totaling about $98,000.
“We don’t have any money in the general fund to meet our bills,” Hoover said.
“How are we going to pay those bills?” board member Chad Austin asked.
“We can’t,” board member Glenn Gurtner.
“I don’t like it, because we’re kicking the can down the road again,” Gurtner said. But he added that at this time, a transfer is needed because of the current situation.
As far as revenue, Hoover said, the county won’t be receiving money for the general fund until it receives property tax bill payments in September.
“I don’t know you guys want us to keep operating,” Hoover said, as some board members began talking about postponing action on a transfer.
“The money is just not there,” Hoover said.
She also told board members that there needs to be an effort to find a way to cut costs. “It’s going to have to be all of us” involved in that, Hoover said.
Board member Bryce Kistler asked whether the $600,000 would be enough to help with expenses through September. Hoover said, “I am hoping.
“I will not transfer any more than I have to,” she said.
Beckman told board members last month that a major issue for the county is declining revenues, and Hoover told board members on Tuesday that another issue is late payments from the state.
She said that the state has not reimbursed the county for probation employee salaries since June, and that it’s running three months behind on other payments, including income tax and sales tax funds.
Hoover said that she is hoping to get some state monies in the near future, but that there needs to be some action taken to address the county’s ongoing deficit situation.
“We’ve just got to watch our spending,” she said. “That’s not what that (capital improvement money) was intended for.”
If the county simply continues to make the interfund loans and then repay the loans with real estate tax revenue, Hoover said, “We are never, ever going to be ahead of ourselves. It’s continuous every year.”
Of the $5.5 million the county received for the coal rights, the county currently has $1 million, $500,000 and $377,509 in certificates of deposit and $968,286.40 in money market funds, Hoover said, with this latest loan coming out of the latter.
The county also has loaned about $1.1 million to the Fayette County Health Department, which is repaying that loan in $11,907.80 monthly payments, Hoover said.
Wilhour, who was one of three to vote against the transfer, the others being Jake Harris and Glen “Whitey” Daniels, agreed with Hoover.
“We have no solution. I think it needs to be discussed more,” Wilhour said.
Daniels agreed. “It’s already pretty well half spent,” he said about the transfer to the general fund.
“We just can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” Daniels said.
Harris said that he was “not totally against (the transfer), but believes that there needs to be more ongoing monitoring of the county’s finances.
Board member Dean Bernhardt voted for the transfer, but went one step further than those casting dissenting votes.
Bernhardt said that he keeps hearing from people that the county board needs to address the finances instead of continuing to make transfers.
“We’re going to have to make some moves,” he said.
“There’s going to be some cuts made – it’s simple as that, and everybody is going to have to be involved.
“I’m sorry, but it’s going to involve people (personnel cuts),” Bernhardt said.
“I’ve had enough,” he said.
But Kistler disagreed with that recommendation.
“Before you make any personnel (cuts), I challenge you to go to their offices,” Kistler said.
And, “this building (county courthouse) needs work,” he said, talking about future expenses facing the board.
As he did last month, board member John Blythe said that the county and the city of Vandalia need to work together to attract new business and industry.
Some towns, such as Salem and Highland, are seeing growth, and this area has the assets available to do the same.
Waggoner agreed with Blythe, adding that there needs to be an effort to go after new business and industry, instead of just waiting for prospects to come to the city and county.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting:
• The board approved the renewal of an agreement with Health Alliance for health insurance for county employees.
Austin said that the renewal includes a 3.9-percent increase in premiums, and that the county now has point of service coverage instead of preferred provider organization.
If it kept the coverage at the current level with the PPO arrangement, Austin said, the premiums would increase by 10 percent.
Waggoner explained that with the POS arrangement, employees in the plan must name a physician and use that physician before seeing any specialist.
She also said the current policy does not include any preventive services and that she believes that the county board needs to consider such a coverage.
“Can we look at another health care plan that has (such) a program,” Waggoner said, explaining that the trend in health care is doing things to prevent medical issues.
She also said that the county’s insurance was used for 77 surgeries recently. “Some of them are necessary,” she said, “but how many of them are elective.”
At a time when the board has to look at ways to cut expenses, the health coverage is one thing to review, she said.
• Beckman reported that the Regional Office of Education will be moving out of the courthouse annex at the southeast corner of Seventh and Johnson streets at the end of this month.
He said that the ROE staff housed in that building are moving to Jefferson Primary School in Vandalia. The ROE already has some of its staff in that former elementary school building.

Leave a Comment