Marion County Board Chair Steve Whritenour says they will have to look at even more cuts to get to a balanced budget after he learned the county will receive an estimated $825,000 less in sales tax revenue in the coming fiscal year.
The budget committee had started with a $1.1-million deficit after their initial meeting with office holders in August, but had cut that down to $750,000 before they received the bad news on the sales tax revenue. The board is now looking at a more than $1.5-million shortfall.
Whritenour received the bad news through Bellwether, LLC which helps with the annual budget preparation. He was told the cut from the state was impacting all counties.
The news comes as the budget and finance committee plan to meet at five Tuesday evening at the courthouse to try and finalize a budget for the fiscal year that begins December 1st.
Whritenour expects each county office holder to be asked again to see if they can make any cuts. However, he notes they all did a good job at the initial budget meeting where the overall ask was down one percent from last year. Whritenour says the shortfall will likely put an end to any capital improvement projects next year.
The proposed budget also includes a cost analysis on fees charged for county services to see if the charges are covering the cost of providing the service. However, Whritenour says whatever changes are recommended will not come close to covering the shortfall.
