Bucks, facing deficit, eyes austerity budget for 2012

Bucks County is facing a projected $24.3 million shortfall next year that could require the first property-tax increase in six years, a hiring freeze, wage concessions, and increased fees, officials said Wednesday.

The preliminary $471.3 million budget for 2012 does not include a tax increase, which would require a vote of the commissioners. But it does call for cutting the county's rainy-day fund in half, to $27.5 million. That would be $20 million below the required 10 percent reserve, Finance Director David Boscola said.

The fund, which totaled $73 million in 2008, has been used to keep taxes steady the last few years, said county Chief Operating Officer Brian Hessenthaler.

"With the economy, we didn't want to increase taxes, and we had the General Fund [rainy-day fund]," he said. "Now is still not a good time, but we don't have the pool to go to. We don't want to jeopardize the county's economic future."

There are four ways of covering the shortfall: decrease costs, increase taxes, dip into the rainy-day fund, "which is the least preferable," and a combination of the three, Hessenthaler said.

"Everything is on the table. We'll be working diligently in the next four weeks to see how we can address the deficit," he said. "There aren't any sacred cows."

The budget, up 1.7 percent from this year, reflects savings in services and supplies for the fourth straight year, Boscola said. That leaves salaries and benefits - the county's largest single cost - as one of the prime sources of cuts.

The budget provides for a workforce of 2,628 positions, the same as this year, but there are about 115 vacancies, Boscola said. Leaving 30 jobs unfilled would save $2.6 million based on an average cost of $85,000 in wages and benefits per employee, he said.

Nonunion employees, totaling one-third of the staff, have agreed to a pay freeze, and they contribute to their health-care coverage. The county will undoubtedly look to extend those savings in negotiations with the unions, including the Operating Engineers and AFSCME.

One of the largest increases in expenditures is for debt service. The $36.1 million cost, up 11.1 percent, will pay for the new Justice Center, a federally mandated update to the emergency communication system, and open-space acquisitions.

The budget will be presented to the public at 6 p.m. Dec. 6 in the first-floor community room at the County Courthouse in Doylestown. The commissioners are expected to vote on it at their Dec. 21 meeting.