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Deficit worries prompt cuts by New Madrid County commissioners
NEW MADRID, Mo. — There were some difficult decisions to make when faced with some higher-than-anticipated costs in 2023 and inflation eating at expenditures for 2024, according to New Madrid County commissioners.
Prior to signing the 2024 budget Feb. 2, New Madrid County Presiding Commissioner Mark Baker described formulating this year’s financial document as one of the most difficult he has been involved with in the 19 years he has served in county government. For 2024, the county anticipates revenues remaining steady at $7,079,648.02 while expenditures are forecast at $7,465,048.85 in the general revenue fund.
County Clerk Amy Brown said several factors led to the higher spending in the building and grounds portion of the 2023 budget.
Storm damage to the roof of the County Courthouse resulted in numerous leaks. Although insurance covered much of the re-roofing costs, the final bill was $16,000 more than anticipated, she said.
“When you have a building that was built more than 100 years ago, you have issues and they are never easy to fix,” Brown noted.
There were also issues with the Courthouse parking lot, where work was completed to seal cracks and re-coat it. To maintain compliance with the American Disabilities Act, handrails leading to the building’s entries were reground and repainted.
The Road and Bridge Fund experienced a deficit of $420,955.96 for 2023. Brown said this was due to an unanticipated increase in roadway requiring resurfacing and a substantial increase in the cost of asphalt.
For the coming year, Brown stated in her budget message the sheriff’s office, employee fringe benefits and insurance continue to be the top areas for expenditures in the general revenue fund.
She wrote that “the employee fringe benefits medical insurance went up 21 percent for 2024. The County Commission recognizes the value of the county personnel and chose to continue to pay insurance for the employees with the increase.”
Property insurance costs dramatically increased and, according to Baker, liability insurance doubled after a $1.2 million payout following an injury accident involving a Sheriff’s Department vehicle.
Commissioners also expressed concerns about the state mandating salaries for Missouri’s county sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys. Baker said not only did the state set the salary level but requires a 6 percent increase annually over the next four years.
In New Madrid County, he continued, those were the only county officials receiving a pay raise in 2024.
First District Commissioner Bobby Aycock said with the initial projected deficit of $1.5 million, the Commission had no choice but to make some cuts.
To counter the anticipated deficits, all county offices’ budgets were reduced by 10 percent of their requested amounts. Also Commissioners determined a reduction in staffing was needed and cut one position from the Recorder’s office, one from the Collector’s office and five positions from the Sheriff’s Department.
Baker said he realized some of the staff cuts were not well received.
“But how deep do you go into (deficit spending) before you make changes,” he asked. “I would hate to walk down the street if I had negative spent to the point that we were broke. I would be worried more about what people thought about me then than if I made cuts to make sure we don’t go that way.”
New Madrid County Sheriff Bud Cooper was contacted for a statement regarding the cuts but had not responded as of press time.
But there was some good news for the Sheriff’s Department in the budget. Because the Sheriff’s Department’s current building is deemed beyond repair, in 2023 the County purchased a building with plans to relocate the Sheriff’s Department and the Juvenile Office.
Brown noted although the building will need extensive remodeling, it is hoped to be ready sometime this year.
Another bright spot, pointed out by the County Clerk, was that although the County received less state and federal grant funding in 2023, property taxes revenues increased as did sales tax revenues. The County began 2024 with all funds showing solid account balances, Brown wrote in her budget message.
The budget showed the County began the year with $7,385,748.26 on hand.
According to Baker, the now projected $600,000 deficit includes a required emergency fund of $394,000 on hand.
“So if we don’t have an emergency we know that won’t be spent. So in actual numbers we are at about $200,000 in the hole,” Baker said. “We have been there before and those things haven’t materialized before and we have ended up with a surplus.”