Overtime, employee shortage are public safety dilemmas By Bob Balgemann Reporter BELVIDERE - Boone County is no different than anyplace else when it comes to emergencies. A call for help must be answered whether it comes at 2 in the afternoon or in the middle of the night. Making sure the resources are present to meet that obligation continues to be a struggle, as was seen again Tuesday night. The countys top law enforcement officials met with members of the finance and public safety committees during a special, joint meeting to talk about their needs for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins Dec. 1. Wants, also known as new initiatives, are not going to happen. That includes new patrol cars, new deputies and equipment upgrades. The money isnt there. Overtime and manpower shortages are major problems, as they have been in the past. That is true in the sheriffs department, in the 911 dispatching center and at the jail. County Administrator Ken Terrinoni crafted the current version of the proposed budget. It has $15.430 in projected revenue to go with $15.592 in expenses, for a deficit of $162,259. That compares to the initial spending plan, which reflected a shortfall of between $900,000 and $1 million. Each county department has been asked to reduce spending by 2 1/2 percent in the new year. The sheriffs department commands the biggest share of the budget, or $3.349 million, or 1.8 percent higher than the current budget. Terrinoni referred to it as a status quo budget. Several years ago there were 37 deputies. Now there are 32. To cut its proposed spending by 2 1/2 percent would require laying off two deputies. Thats disastrous, Sheriff Duane Wirth said of losing two more sworn personnel. MORE MONEY FOR OVERTIME Overtime here is budgeted at $210,000 for 2014-15, the same as this year. But it is projected that by Nov. 30, end of the current fiscal year, some $219,655 will have been spent. Terrinoni said the sheriffs department is a 24-7-365 operation, meaning its always ready to serve. The same dynamic exists at the jail, where there currently are two vacancies among the allowable staff of 34. Trimming that budget by 2 1/2 percent would mean $60,000-$70,000, he said. Thats people, said the commander, sheriffs Lt. John Hare, of where the money would come from. Sometimes we have to order people in to work. They dont want to come in because theyre burned out. He is requesting $200,000 for overtime, the same as this year. It is estimated that $208,830 will have been spent by Nov. 30. How many would you need to cut into the overtime? public safety committee Chairman Brad Fidder asked. Two would certainly be a help, Hare replied. The public safety building is jointly funded by the county and city of Belvidere. It houses the 911 dispatching center and technology department. There currently are 14 dispatchers, two shy of the permitted 16, which creates overtime problems for the commander, sheriffs Lt. Perry Gay. He is asking for $96,000 to pay for overtime next year, a 54 percent increase over the current $62,000. An estimated $87,078 will have been spent by Nov. 30. To cut $36,000 from the public safety building would come from salaries, he said. That could be accomplished by staggering the employment of the two new dispatchers, he said. Sheriff-elect Dave Ernest was at the meeting and asked what he thought about the budget picture. Other than not enough manpower and buildings falling down, it sounds like everything is good, he replied. In a more serious vein, he added, Where were headed is not good. Something will have to change. The finance committee is expecting to lay over the 2014-15 budget by mid-October and vote on it early in November. Adoption would come at the Nov. 19 county board meeting.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:44:07 +0000
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