2010 News

November 24, 2010

Preliminary 2011 County Budget Leaves Commissioners with Options to Cover Shortfall

The County of Bucks’ 2011 preliminary budget was presented this afternoon by Chief Operating Officer Brian Hessenthaler and Finance Director David Boscola. The proposed operating budget of $463.9 million represents a 3.8-percent increase over 2010 – the majority of which is attributed to employee-related costs. According to Mr. Boscola, the current operating budget draft represents a work-in-progress, including input from the administration, courts and row offices.

“Our division leaders, department heads and court and row officials have collaborated throughout this process in an attempt to maintain costs at 2010 levels,” Boscola states. “We will continue to explore ways to reduce expenditures between now and December 15 (when Commissioners Charles H. Martin, chairman, James F. Cawley, Esq. and Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW are scheduled to vote on the document during their bi-monthly meeting at the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau in Bensalem).”

Highlighting the county’s strong financial picture, which includes a first-ever Aaa bond rating from the Moody’s credit agency that was bestowed earlier this year, Bucks will carry over a projected general fund balance of $63.5 million into 2011. Both Hessenthaler and Boscola praised the Board of Commissioners for its support of a strong general (or “rainy day”) fund. This fund has enabled the county to maintain a high level of services, fulfill contractual obligations, and prevent layoffs while continuing to sustain its credit rating. As a result, these measures will lead to reduced borrowing rates, yielding taxpayer savings.

Weighed against revenue projections, the proposed 2011 budget creates an $8.8 million gap. Detailing the reasons for that shortfall, Boscola pointed to existing collective bargaining agreements and pension and healthcare costs.

As has been the case with previous budgets, the county’s Health and Human Services Division accounts for the largest portion of the entire operating budget, or 46 percent ($211.7 million). Departments under the realm of public safety comprise 31 percent ($144.8 million) of the total.

Another budget component is that the county has been able to avoid layoffs to date. The preliminary budget shows a net addition of four positions, which include two Children & Youth social workers (with weekend hours), one Crime Lab toxicologist and one chief deputy district attorney. Three of the four are offset by commensurate budget reductions.

Boscola explains that the commissioners have several alternatives to cover the $8.8 million shortfall as they consider adoption of a final budget, which traditionally has occurred during the final Commissioners’ Meeting of the calendar year: enact further cuts to expenditures, investigate additional sources of revenue, draw down the county’s general fund balance, raise taxes, or some combination thereof.  

Commissioner Chairman Martin opposes a tax increase in the current economic climate, noting that the county’s existing string of four straight years with no property tax increase marks the longest such streak in recent Bucks County annals. Since 2007, the county’s millage rate has been held steady at 21.942.

“We will continue exploring avenues to reduce the shortfall,” Boscola reiterates. “This budget remains a draft document that will be examined by the Finance Department for potential revisions.”

Over the next three weeks, the proposed 2011 budget will undergo close scrutiny by the Board of Commissioners. That process will include a public budget meeting, during which any interested member of the public will be able to ask questions and offer input. That public budget hearing will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 6, in the Bucks County Courthouse Community Room (1st Floor). The 2011 budget includes provisions for departments serving Bucks County residents such as the Emergency Management Agency, Fire Marshal, Consumer Protection, Military Affairs, Board of Elections, Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Health and Emergency Health, Area Agency on Aging, Children and Youth, and Parks and Recreation, among others. The budget also provides for courts and elected row offices, including the District Attorney, Clerk of Courts, Sheriff, Prothonotary, Controller, Recorder of Deeds, Register of Wills, Coroner and Treasurer.

To view the 2011 preliminary budget, please visit www.BucksCounty.org and click on the budget link on the home page. Stay tuned to the official county website for comprehensive information about the budget process.