(VIDEO) WRAP-UP ON SCPR SERIES ON 2014 STARK CO BUDGETING PROCESS

VIDEO
 BUDGET REVIEW

Marc Warner
Stark Co Ct. of Common Pleas 
Chief Administrator

Alan Harold
Stark County Audtior

Richard Regula
Stark County Commissioner

Rick DeHeer
Stark Co. Ct of Common Pleas
Family Division
Chief Administrator

UPDATE:  03/19/2014 AT 7:20 PM

Martin: (From Chris Nichols/5:30 PM)
...

There were a few minor adjustments from the Operational Budget numbers you saw last week, primarily with the Prosecutor (to reimburse for a Capital Purchase made earlier in the year), Sheriff (due to some updating to actuals from estimates for liability and vehicle insurance premiums), Clerk of Courts (for an unanticipated retirement) and the Common Pleas Court (to correct a minor calculation error).  In net, these two Appropriation Resolutions complete a total 2014 Operational Appropriation amount of $57,729,005 or just $8,378 more than the budget presented at last week's meeting.

That amount combined with the $3,200,000 Capital Budget provides a total 2014 Appropriated Budget amount of $60,929,005.

I have also updated (and attached) the Budget Presentation to show the final appropriation amounts for each department.

... .

Chris 


ORIGINAL BLOG

As "a public service" the SCPR brings to everyday Stark Countians a multi-part series (eight blogs in all) on the "proposed" (see disclaimer in graphic above) 2014 Stark County budget.

Today, The Report presents Volume labeled "Wrap-Up" of Stark County Commissioners' Budget Director Chris Nichols' 2014 Stark County "proposed" budget.

Readers of this blog to get a full appreciation of Nichols' presentation should make sure that they have read prior blogs in order as listed below:

1. Volume 1
2. Volume 2 
3. Volume 3 
4. Volume 4
5. Volume 5 
6. Volume 6 
7. Q&A, Commissioners Comments

In Volume 1, Commissioner Thomas Bernabei appears in the video and outlines the four (4) guidelines that he and fellow commissioners Janet Creighton and Richard Regula laid out to Nichols in formulating the 2014 budget, to wit:

1. The county must live within its means,
2. New revenue for the year must support the operation budget of the county through 2019,
3. Carry-over funds cannot be used to fund the day-to-day operations of government,
4. He must build a 2014 budget that forms a viable base on which budgets through 2019 can be realistically projected as being "sustainable budgets"

Today's blog features: (in the video at the end of this blog)

• Marc Warner, Stark County Court of Common Pleas chief administrator,
• Alan Harold, Stark County auditor,
• Richard Regula, Stark County commissioner, and
• Rick DeHeer, Stark County Court of Common Pleas - Family Division - chief administrator,

on their take on Budget Director Nichols' March 13, 2014 presentation featured in this SCPR series (Volumes 1 through 6) on the 2014 Stark County budgeting process.

The reviews are positive for Nichols and the commissioners but we are only in the base year (2014) of a five year span.

As the SCPR sees it, 2016 will be the "pivotal" year in which Nichols and the commissioners will first see the "tell-tale" signs of whether or not the budgeting work done in 2014 will result in a "sustainable" budget through 2019.

Meanwhile, the apt expression is:  "the jury is still out!"