Saturday, May 3, 2008

Commission allots funds for fulltime firefighters

Julia M. Dendinger

News-Bulletin Staff Writer

jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

After an hour- and-a-half of crunching numbers Wednesday evening, the county commissioners asked staff to add three additional expenditures to the preliminary 2008-09 fiscal year budget.

The commissioners are hoping to use some of the estimated ending cash balance for this fiscal year, which becomes the beginning cash balance for the upcoming 2008-09 fiscal year, to pay for four fulltime firefighters, the raises negotiated through collective bargaining for sheriff's department deputies and a 50 cent an hour raise for all other county employees.

County finance director Wilma Abril said that based on historical numbers and projected revenue, the county should end the current fiscal year with an estimated cash balance of $981,817.

She did caution the commission to remember that the additional expenditures would be recurring. "The revenues for the county for the last five years have been stagnant," Abril said. "Yes, the treasurer did collect $400,000 more than projected for the first half of the year, but that was eaten up very fast."

Zamora said that surplus was quickly adsorbed by the added costs of maintenance and utilities for the new county facilities such as the judicial complex, various community centers and fire stations. "We budgeted $650,000 for the maintenance and utilities of those facilities," he said.

Addressing public safety

One of the additions will answer the pleas made by code enforcement director Ruben Chavez and county fire chief Charles Eaton at last week's budget hearing.

Both Chavez and Eaton asked the commissioners to find a way to pay the salary and benefits of four full-time firefighters for the county. Last week, Eaton told the commission that after looking at the numbers, 30 to 40 percent of calls for fire and emergency services came in between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

With volunteer numbers falling both in the county and nationwide, Eaton said it is difficult to respond to calls with adequate personnel.

Eaton proposed that with four paid firefighters, two could be placed on each side of the river to respond to calls during the work week when volunteer availability is at its lowest.

Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham said she felt very strongly about the county bringing fulltime fire personnel on board. "We all campaigned on public safety," she said. "This is critical."

Commissioner David Medina asked if the four full-time positions would man fire stations 24/7. Commissioner Lynette Pinkston said it was her understanding that the four firefighters would be scheduled on shifts between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

"Our greatest need is during the standard workweek, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.," said Eric Zamora, county manager. Commissioner Ron Gentry asked if the firefighters would only respond to fires in the district where they were stationed.

Pinkston said they would respond to fire and emergency calls throughout the county. "They will be firefighters as well as EMTs," she said. "They will respond to where they are needed."

The salary and benefits of four fulltime firefighters would cost $147,000.

In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, Eaton said the commission's decision to put the four firefighter/EMTs into next year's budget was good news.

"With the growth in our community, there is more of a need for our services," he said. "I think this indicates to the community that the commission identified a delinquency that we brought to them.

"They are doing the best they can with the finances they have to make this happen. This isn't a total fix, but it's a good first step. The commission has been very responsive to a good many of our recent needs."

Eaton went on to say that with the downturn in the economy and falling government revenues, the county is doing something that many places wish they could do as well.

The four firefighters would be utilized to address the timeframe during the week, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., when the department receives the highest call volume. There will be a two-person team on each side of the river to respond to fire and emergency calls when volunteer responders are usually unavailable, Eaton said.

"Obviously we encourage the volunteers to respond if they are able to. This just gives a somewhat guaranteed response for that time frame," he said. "There is only so much two people can do." Eaton went on to say that if a large event occurred, a team would cross the river to assist.

At last week's workshop, Sheriff Rene Rivera asked for five additional deputies for the department. Commissioners discussed the possibility of adding one deputy, but decided to hold off on that in lieu of the four firefighters.

"We've been concentrating on the sheriff's department for the last few years," Zamora said. "We need to spread the wealth around, as it were. I think we can work with the sheriff's department to make it more efficient."

In last year's budget, the sheriff's department operational budget increased by 16 percent, rising from $2.78 million to $3.22 million.

With revenues flat this year, Commissioner David Medina suggested waiting to see what actual revenues materialized in the coming fiscal year before hiring more deputies. "I think we need to look at this again when we realize the revenues," he said. "We can make budget adjustments via resolution to DFA (Department of Finance and Administration)."

Raises for all

In light of a 7.5 percent increase in the cost of employee insurance, the commission asked staff to incorporate a 50-cent per hour wage increase into next year's budget.

While a full dollar an hour would increase the budget by $500,000, the 50-cent increase will cut that in half.

Gentry asked if the 50 cents would cover the cost of the insurance increase. Zamora said it would "and then some."

And while a final number has not been officially reached, the commission asked that $40,000 be placed in the budget to pay for deputy pay raises reached through collective bargaining.

The final numbers

With the requests made, Abril again cautioned the commission. "The numbers for the ending cash balance are conservative," she said. "We are already seeing a decline in revenues."

The projected ending cash balance for the county for this fiscal year is $981,817. If the four firefighters, employee raises and collective bargaining amounts for the deputies are all approved, that will total $437,000.

The county is also required to keep an amount equal to three-twelfths of its budget in reserve. That money could be used to keep the county running for three months in the event of a significant drop in revenues.

Any increase in expenditures has to be matched by an increase in the three-twelfths reserve. If the additional expenditures are approved, the county has to increase its reserves by $109,250.

Between the additional expenditures and the increase to the reserve, the county would possibly end this fiscal year with an ending cash balance of $435,567.

That same amount is also considered the beginning cash balance for the county's 2008-09 fiscal year.

At last week's meeting, the commission was concerned that DFA would not approve the budget if the ending cash balance was too low. Abril said after calling the department, she found that was not the case.

"They don't really have an exact number you have to have for your ending cash balance," she said. "They told me one county comes in every year with $1 as its ending cash balance. And DFA watches them very closely."

The commission will take final action on the budget at its meeting on Wednesday, May 21. The budget must be submitted to Santa Fe and the Department of Finance and Administration by June 1.

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