This week, the Fremont County Commissioners have had to cut the county’s fiscal year 2020-2021 budget by $4.5M. “We think we have a balanced budget at this moment,” Chairman Travis Becker shared following the latest Commissioner meeting this week.
Reducing the budget by $4.5M significantly decreases or completely stops funding altogether to organizations such as the VOA, senior centers, Fremont County Fair, Riverton Airport, Fremont County Library System (Riverton, Lander, Dubois), Eagles Hope Transitions, Recreation Board, Fremont County Alliance, Museums, and many others. No department or organization can expect to see additional funding in their budget, Becker noted.
The first Fremont County Commissioner Budget Session was on May 12th, where Fremont County Clerk and Budget Officer Julie Freese informed them that an estimated $2.3M would need to be cut. This number nearly doubled this week as updated sales tax projections and assessment numbers show an even more significant deficit.
“We don’t have a whole lot more that we can cut,” Becker explained. “We’re getting to a point where our statutory duties are the only things funded. We only have to fund one library and only if we have the funding. We don’t have to have the fair. We don’t have to have the rec, but they are in charge of maintaining and operating three county assets, so we need to keep them going.” Those three assets include the youth camp above Lander, Rails to Trails, and the Green Mountain Campground.
Many organizations have submitted multiple budget drafts over the last few weeks as they work to find all the cuts that can be made. Some are on their fifth draft, Becker noted.
While all of the cuts and changes are tentative until the final budget is completed by June 30th, so far, the most significant monetary budget cut is the Fremont County Library System. Currently, $403,091 has been removed from their already reduced budget and brings the total difference from last year’s budget down by $759,886. Even though their budget amount currently remains in the top five out of forty-five departments, the Library Board shared these cuts will significantly impact their day-to-day, and the work they do to support the communities. “At least 12 people will lose their jobs,” Boardmember Don Newton said during a recent Commissioner meeting. The libraries will be closed additional days throughout the week, and “staff will spend an inordinate amount of time applying for grant funding.” The board asked the Commissioners not to make any additional cuts to their budget, and if there is any way to decrease their reduction so their operations will not be so significantly impacted.
Additional items on the table to balance the budget as of this week include using $800,000 out of capital revolving fund. That money is used to purchase necessary items outright for the county, such as a new vehicle, equipment, etc. The department pays back a monthly “rental fee” for the item(s) with a small amount of interest to the fund to build purchasing power, Becker explained. “We are not going to buy anything this year.” They plan to keep $100,000 in an emergency fund for necessary repairs or replacements. All of the “rental payments” departments make will then go into the cash reserve instead of the capital revolving fund to help balance the budget.
County employees could also pick up more of their retirement costs and pay a higher percentage for their health insurance.
Cash reserves for all Offline Boards, like the fair and library, could be removed. This means they would have to ask the Treasurer for operating cash as they need it before the property tax distribution at the end of May 2021. Commissioners would also cut their cash reserve by $200,000.
Fremont County Sheriff Ryan Lee offered not to pay holiday pay, but require deputies to take compensation time. If that happens, the Commissioners said they would not pay holiday pay for any department, and if they accrue time for working a holiday, it must be given to the employee in compensation time.
No travel will be allowed on the county’s money unless the department can prove it is mandated. A rough estimate on savings Becker shared was around $40,000.
IT work has also been done to consolidate phones and the internet. The rough estimate of savings for that was also around $40,000.
They are also looking at consolidating departments and selling assets such as buildings. However, there is no guarantee that a building will be sold, so they can’t add that number into the budget. If an asset is sold, it will be considered “unanticipated revenue” and will go into the cash reserve.
The economic impacts of COVID-19 are mostly to blame for this $4.5M cut in the upcoming fiscal year. Fewer travelers and canceled events have made the sales tax projection “fall off the cliff” as Becker put it. Another significant contributor is a decrease in Fremont County’s assessed value. That went down by about $7M due to oil and gas industry losses.
“I don’t like not being able to help fund the senior center with some of their meals,” Becker said. “The mineral industry is in a world of hurt, and COVID has really taken its toll on the county and every local business.”
Senator Cale Case and Representative Lloyd Larsen shared an update with the Commissioners following the Legislative Special Session that happened in May. Unfortunately, there is no CARES Act funding to help recover the revenues that local governments are experiencing. That money can only be used for COVID-related expenses, but not for government operations. There is a small possibility that the third CARES Act funding disbursement in September could go toward local government losses, but that is not guaranteed.
As a reminder, these are only tentative changes, cuts, etc. The final budget is not due until the end of June, but this is a small snapshot of what the next fiscal year could look like, and the Commissioners have reiterated that they are looking at everything.