County passes budget

Shutty commends county staff during process

Matt Baide | Dec 15, 20220

Mason County commissioners adopted the 2023 budget at $177,976,694 following a public hearing Dec. 5.

According to the information packet, the general fund is $68,492,402, and the other funds total $109,484,292. The beginning balance for the general fund is $26 million and revenues are $42,492,402. Salaries and benefits total $31,916,861, operating expenditures are $15,256,512 and the ending fund balance is $21,319,029. The county has budgeted for 281.55 full-time employees.

The total for other funds is $109,484,292. The beginning fund balance is $48,229,136, total revenue is $61,255,156 and salaries and benefits are $14,248,326. Operating expenditures are $65,622,474 and the ending fund is $29,613,492. The total budgeted full-time equivalent in other funds are 128.46, for a total of 410.01 between the general and other funds.

According to Mason County Budget Manager Jennifer Beierle, changes to the initial budget released Nov. 21 include Treasurer’s Office revenue in the general fund and property taxes being reduced by $7,551 to match the levy resolution. The Mason County Sheriff’s Office budget line had $90,000 added in the general fund for an underwater dive camera and added $61,500 for the Terradyne SWAT vehicle recently purchased.

In special funds, Beierle said the mental health tax revenue was increased on the property tax line by $3,029 to match the levy resolution. In the veterans assistance fund on the property tax line, it was increased by $4,524 to match the levy resolution.

“There is a lot of work that goes into this budget and it begins as soon as we adopt for the next year,” Beierle said during the special meeting. “We all put a lot of time and energy into making this budget as open and transparent as possible to follow RCW 36.40 and I just want to thank everybody that works here that puts time in, including you commissioners, and we have an amazing team of people and a lot of talent and I just want to take a moment to acknowledge everyone.”

No one spoke during public comment. Commissioner Sharon Trask thanked staff for their work on the budget.

“We had some really good discussions, all the departments came together and worked together,” Trask said during the meeting. “This 10 minutes of motion and briefing is nothing compared to the time that you guys have all put in so I want to thank you very much for everything that you’ve done, you and your team.”

Commissioner Randy Neatherlin thanked Beierle specifically for the budget session and the community’s work.

“This is one time where we have expended more than we normally do but there’s a reason. We have taken some pretty big beatings over the years to straighten out the budget, make it good and put money away and have money in reserve and to have a good ending fund balance,” Neatherlin said. “Because of that, we are to the point now where we have enough in ending fund balance, something you’ve heard me say before is time to either expend it and create more services or give it back. This budget, we’re able to create more services such as law enforcement and stuff in what we’ve been talking about dealing with and I think that’s something that the county can be proud of that they are being good stewards of the money but are starting to bring even more services to the people to help alleviate their issues and their tensions and I think everybody has done a wonderful job to get us to that point at this time.”

Commissioner Kevin Shutty commended staff and everyone involved for putting together a responsible budget.

“One of the highlights of this is we’ve continued to fully fund our reserves so that as we watch what’s happening economically in the broader sense, we’re in a position to be able to weather some of the bumps that we’re seeing economically,” Shutty said. “But we’re also able to make some investments and being able to invest in law enforcement, being able to continue to work through contract negotiations with our bargaining units, being able to work on addressing our class and comp study on the nonrepresented side, working with the Sheriff’s Office on a solution to the jail, both short and long term. We’re very rarely able to do it all, ever, but I think this year, we’re taking a very big bite out of the apple heading into 2023 to make progress on a lot of those fronts.”

Shutty said the fund balance is healthy without raising the county’s portion of property taxes. To view the 2023 budget, go to tinyurl.com/yuxjsupt.