Albemarle's fiscal future remains uncertain

Second in a two-part series.
Read part 1

Officials agree: Albemarle County’s financial picture is uglier than anything the county has seen in decades.

But what does it mean for Albemarle’s future? Will the county find itself drowning in expenses it cannot cover and lowering its standards for services, or is there a way for the county to become stronger?

Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin said that though county finances have been wounded, a new approach to governmental operations could strengthen county operations long-term.

“Even as we hopefully hit the bottom and start to climb back, it’s going to be slow and gradual,” Catlin said, adding however that any picture of the county’s future is blurred by economic uncertainty.

Others say the spending cuts could cause severe drawbacks for the county, what with a $2.4 million reduction in general government departmental expenditures, no funding increases for the vast majority of community and human service agencies and no money for new programs.

The budget woes have the county delaying or axing major infrastructure projects, reducing transportation funds and forcing the county to take on some of the same tasks as past years with fewer employees. The overall proposed budget stands at $303.7 million, $30 million less than the budget approved for the current fiscal year.

The county spending reduction, triggered largely by revenue drops from declines in sales taxes and assessed property values, has the county eyeing a five-year budget for infrastructure projects that is about $100 million lighter than a plan approved a year ago.

A plan to build a new, 18,300-square-foot library in Crozet in 2011 was delayed to 2013, for example. Plans to build a library in northern Albemarle were cut from the five-year plan entirely, as were $1.9 million in renovations at Court Square, on top of several other multimillion-dollar projects that were delayed or erased.

Ann H. Mallek, vice chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors, said that slicing major expenses in the fiscal 2010 budget is necessary but hard to swallow.

“What is painful to me is the pay-me-now or pay-me-later category,” Mallek said.

Instead of taking advantage of low construction costs, the county is growing a list of delayed projects, something Mallek sees as unfortunate: “Because we’re unable to pay the smaller amount now ... sadly, it will cost us more in the long run.”

Some officials said they worry that if the economy worsens in the coming year, they might be forced to make deep spending cuts for core services. Others said they don’t know where they’d look for additional cuts.

Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd said he’ll likely call on county officials to create backup plans, in case the economy becomes worse than projected.

“I think we ought to strategically prepare for what our next step of cuts would be,” Boyd said.

Planning for the worst

Boyd said that he’s already concerned that police and social service departments are under-staffed but the county should plan for worse.

“The next wave of cost cuts would really be, I think, detrimental to us,” Boyd said.

Catlin said that the county executive’s office is already preparing recommendations for further spending cuts. But as the county begins to fortify itself, officials are focused on protecting core services, such as education and public safety, health and welfare, she said.

“We certainly have been looking at a lot of contingency plans for how we would deal with continued downturn,” Catlin said.

This year, the county is delaying its progress toward meeting many of its goals, and some initiatives are being set back. Funding for social services is stagnate, despite growing needs, and the budget calls for less local funding of transportation projects, even as some supervisors argue that the state is shunning its transportation funding obligations.

Supervisor Dennis S. Roo-ker said that Albemarle doesn’t have enough money to pick up the tab on transportation projects this coming fiscal year.

Rooker said that though some of the county’s services will suffer in the short term, the county has the potential to become even more efficient in the long run.

“On the negative side of this, during the current economic situation, I think we’ll find that some service needs will go unmet,” Rooker said. “On the positive side, I think we will emerge from this as an even more efficient operation.”

Boyd agrees.

“From my standpoint, I think it’s been a good exercise for us to go through, because it’s actually forced us to look at all of our spending right now, and I think that’s a good thing to do every so often,” Boyd said.

Peter Wurzer, director of research for the Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance, said he thinks that the spending cuts are long overdue. Wurzer said that the only time governments closely examine spending is when they are forced to do so.

“It’s sad because I think it should be a normal process, just like you do in your household,” Wurzer said.

Long-term, the economic downturn could likely make Albemarle a better county, provided the county uses the opportunity to increase efficiencies, Wurzer said. Though it shouldn’t take an economic crisis to reduce county spending, Wurzer said, having less money is sometimes the only thing that forces governments to spend less.

“Anytime that you’ve doubled your spending in eight years … you can’t tell me that there’s not ways to cut,” Wurzer said. “If somebody puts your back against the wall, you’re going to figure it out.”

Catlin said that the economic crisis must lead to a fundamental change in county operations.

Albemarle embracing more business partnerships is one adjustment that Boyd said is vital. Through proffers, businesses could be asked to help foot the bill for road expansions, for example, he said. Making it easier for retailers to sprout in the county would also mean that more tax revenue would be generated by businesses and some of the burden would be lifted from the shoulders of homeowners, Boyd said.

Reassessing operations

Catlin said that in addition to cutting as many unnecessary expenditures as possible, the county is being forced to re-think employees’ roles.

The county plans to freeze 55 positions by the end of fiscal 2010 but has no plans for layoffs. As positions become vacant, county leaders are looking to shift responsibilities to make sure that all vital functions are served, and the county has been forced to think about ways to consolidate roles, Catlin said.

The economic recession has been a motivating factor in a plan to restructure the school division, as well, said School Board member Diantha McKeel.

The proposed budget replaces school literacy specialists — who often work directly with students who are slow readers — with “instructional coaches,” who would focus on helping teachers become better at their jobs. The move would eliminate 10 employee positions and save the county about $1 million.

Some literacy specialists say that the restructuring is motivated by cost savings and will be damaging to students. School officials leading the restructuring say that the recession caused them to finalize plans more quickly but that the changes have more to do with improving student learning than saving money.

The county is also looking for more opportunities to get state and federal grants and take advantage of volunteer work, Catlin said.

“We’re all learning important lessons right now about being efficient and being effective and making the most with tight resources. Those are good lessons to learn and good things to remember regardless of when and how the recovery happens,” she said.