Cost control emphasized to county officials

County Mayor Eugene Ray, left, presented director Kay Demonbren, Collette Bales and Edward Antosh of the county zoning office with bonuses in appreciation for their cost-saving ideas. The presentation was made during a quarterly meeting of county department heads Thursday at the Emergency Management Agency building on Railroad Avenue. Ray said that staffing changes and other improvements made by the office have saved the county $50,000. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge]

The quarterly luncheon meeting was held Thursday at the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency building on Railroad Avenue. It included the presentation of bonus checks to the staff of Bedford County Zoning Office for their cost-saving measures.

Jeff Bailey, Middle Tennessee audit manager for the state comptroller's office, division of county audit, commended Bedford County on having adopted the Financial Management Act of 1981.

"I think that's a step in the right direction ...." he said, adding, "It doesn't come without pitfalls, though, or problems." He said it often takes two to three years for a county to work out all the bugs in implementing the act, which centralizes financial management functions which had previously been handled separately by individual departments.

He stressed the need for the purchase order system and explained its importance to the county in terms of having an accurate picture of current obligations.

Also important, and for similar reasons, is the practice of accurately tracking and applying accrued employee leave.

Bailey also praised the county for having meetings like the one held Thursday.

"That's an important step in the process of good government," he said.

In response to a question, Bailey said that when county vehicles are transferred from one tax rate budget to another -- say, from the highway department to the school system -- the vehicle must be purchased by the receiving agency for fair market value. That's because the public has been told that the highway department tax rate is for highways and the school tax rate is for schools.

Within a tax rate budget -- for example, if the ambulance service wanted to give a vehicle to the sheriff's department, and both of them are within the county general fund -- such compensation is not required by the state. However, it may be required by local regulations or it may be done simply as a way of tracking expenditures.

County Mayor Eugene Ray stressed the importance of cost-saving and noted the county's sagging revenues.

Cindy Ray of the trustee's office said sales tax is down 1/2 of 1 percent from the previous year, and the mayor said the county is behind $330,000 in property tax revenue.

"We've got to find ways not to waste money," said Eugene Ray.

"I am against raising taxes," he said, but noted that if costs can't be cut, revenue must be found.

Ray congratulated Kay Demonbren, Collette Bales and Edward Antosh of the county zoning office for saving the county up to $50,000 through not filling a vacant position and other measures. He presented bonus checks to the three employees.