Commission backpedals on cuts, approves budget

Sheriff’s Dept. receives additional $140,000 to hire three deputies; rescission of voter-approved parks sales tax will not be pursued

Jeanette Browning Faubion
Citizen Reporter/Editorial

After the explosive County Commission meeting Jan. 3, followed by a week of special budget meetings, the newly retooled County budget was unanimously passed Jan. 10 with little fanfare.

Last week, every County officeholder, minus Auditor Kevin Robinson, spoke out against the Commission’s last-minute budget revisions. Those revisions were reductions that would cost County employees jobs, call for the closure of the Platte County Annex in Platte Woods, the automation of the County telephone system and the elimination of hand-delivery of County mail. Also of concern to officeholders was the Commission’s proposal to redirect dedicated funds in the Assessor’s and Collector’s offices to the general fund. On Jan. 5, the Commissioners met again with County officeholders to discuss the budget cuts. They also issued an immediate stop work order on the expansion of the Platte County Community Centers. On Jan. 6, the Commissioners issued another statement — that the Platte County Sheriff’s Department and the Prosecutor’s office would be fully funded at their requested levels. In the Commission’s original draft budget, the Sheriff’s department received about a half-million in cuts and the Prosecutor about $40,000. Both department cuts would have required staff reductions.

In the new budget document released Jan. 9, not only is funding restored to both offices, but the Sheriff’s Department will receive an additional $142,000 in a discretionary fund. The sheriff may use the funds to increase salaries or hire three additional deputies. Last week, Prosecutor Eric Zahnd and Sheriff Dick Anderson bookended the protests by County officeholders. Anderson noted the cuts would cost the already understaffed department four deputies and would make maintaining and/or updating the aging vehicle fleet more difficult and costly.

Zahnd called for the Commissioners to ask voters to rescind the one-half cent parks sales tax and instead consider a new tax allocating one-eighth cent sales tax for parks and one-quarter cent for law enforcement. It was this suggestion that caused an uproar among supporters of the County’s parks tax, which was approved by voters in 2009 to run for another 10 years.

Tuesday morning, former Dearborn alderman and Platte County Parks Board member Louis Buntin outlined how the parks tax funds had helped improve the Dearborn community over the last 10 years. Since the City started receiving funds from the parks tax, it had been able to purchase property and build a park with ballfields, restrooms and a concession stand. The park is heavily used by both the community and the North Platte School District, so heavily used that Buntin said the City now plans to purchase adjacent land to add parking and a community building. The building would serve as a rental hall for reunions, weddings and other social gatherings as well as serve as a senior center.

“We’re under contract for this piece of ground and now I read in the papers that the sales tax may be rescinded and it has me concerned,” Buntin said. “You have all told me unofficially that this money will be available — but I’d like it officially, something in writing.”

Presiding Commissioner Jason Brown assured Buntin the County intended to honor its financial agreements. The other two Commissioners went a step further and announced they did not intend to heed Zahnd’s suggestion. “I’m not interested in overturning the vote the people made on the parks tax,” 2nd District Commissioner Jim Plunkett said. First District Commissioner Kathy Dusenbery agreed, stating she didn’t believe it would be good to withdraw County promises and instead present a “sales tax cocktail” to the voters.