Leslie Gibson
Flat — that is the word to describe the upcoming 2009-10 budget for Rockwall County.
“I am working closely with the auditor to come up with a first draft,” said County Judge Chris Florance in a Tuesday workshop.
“I am proposing a flat budget.”
He plans to freeze all salaries in the STEP plan and freeze the cost of living increase.
“My objective when I came into office was to bring salaries up to the culture of our demographic to satisfy the demands of many department heads,” he said.
That demographic is between 50,000 and 100,000 county population, he noted.
“The county (offices) have been incredibly receptive to this,” he said.
Thousands of dollars are being saved by department heads, he said.
Concerning the budget, Justice of the Peace David Karr alerted the Herald-Banner to his proposal for budget cuts.
“In order to help during this time of hard times for all, I will be willing for the 2009-10 budget year to give up last year’s raise if you and the commissioners are willing to give up your last year’s raises,” he wrote to Florance.
With that, he noted that, “Cutting any line item would be difficult since I requested County Auditor to raise my postage account.”
Karr noted that Florance later sent an e-mail to everyone on May 26, in which Florance wrote, “I am presently trying to keep our current pay level as a priority.”
After the Tuesday workshop, John Blackwood, county auditor noted that the first draft is due July 1. The certified tax roll is expected July 25.
