Photo illustration by Scott Graves/The Pilot

GOLD BEACH – Can Curry County continue to cut its discretionary spending? 

If federal support disappears, or other revenue is not found, county officials are gearing up to cut more spending – but not without some dire predictions of what that will mean. 

Because federal payments make up a third of this year’s general fund budget, county officials are anticipating a 40 percent cut next year and another 40 percent the following year. 

“It could get quite ugly,” said County Assessor and Tax Collector Jim Kolen.

Curry County expects to soon receive its final Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payment from the federal government, $1,079,053, which will go toward the 2012-13 budget. That is $500,000 less than the county had expected. 

County Accountant Gary Short has already told officials they may need to cut $2 million out of next year’s general fund budget.

The county’s general fund budget for the current fiscal year is $5.7 million.

“About all the revenue we have coming in is property tax and some fees, about $2 million,” Commissioner Bill Waddle said Monday. 

“The vast majority of the general fund is for public safety,” says a special report by Oregon Solutions that was ordered by the governor. “Of the 14 public safety departments, five are responsible for over 55 percent of the total general fund expenditures.”

Without additional federal funding, a tax increase or money from another source, general fund departments could see a 40 percent cut across the board. 

The general fund pays for operation of the Board of Commissioners, County Clerk, Assessor/Tax Collector, Treasurer, Surveyor, Sheriff, Jail, Search and Rescue, 911 Dispatch, Emergency Services, Animal Control, District Attorney, Juvenile, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and Veterans services.

“The state doesn’t want us to use the word bankruptcy. Financial dysfunction is the same thing,” Sheriff John Bishop said in a recent meeting of elected officials. “We go bankrupt, that affects the cities. Our credit ratings plummet. All bonds we passed. It affects the state, their bonds. I know several other counties in the same situation.” 

Bishop has been saying for some time how he could lose all patrol deputies, dispatch, and most other functions with such drastic cuts to his budget. Less has been heard about what would happen to other general fund departments.    

Kolen said that, in 2006, the assessor’s office and tax collection had 13.6 staff positions to do their functions.

“Today, it’s at 8.55 and I’m really at the point we’re cutting off arms and legs now,” he said.

“I could maybe get by with .75 less of a person. We’re getting to the point these cuts affect efficiencies,” Kolen said.

He said a 40 percent cut “would affect taxing districts which are legally allowed to get property tax. The following years, with another 40 percent cut, we wouldn’t be getting anything done after that. I could be here, but nothing would be getting done.”

State law says if the county doesn’t fund the appraisal process, the state would do it and bill the county for the work, Kolen said.

“Most state workers get paid more than county employees do,” Kolen said. “If they sent us a bill would the county be able to pay it? I don’t think so.”

Besides, Kolen said, “The (state) Department of Revenue doesn’t have any employees with the technical ability to do that.”

Kolen said soon, the county could be at the point it wasn’t collecting the $22.9 million in property taxes that are collected on behalf of the special districts in the county – cities, school districts, ports, fire districts, road districts and more.

Of that money, “57 percent goes to the schools, Port Orford gets $380,000, Gold Beach $550,000 and Brookings $3.1 million.”

County Clerk Reneé Kolen said her office – which is required by state law to operate elections, record mortgages, deeds, trustees and liens, and plats for developments –  couldn’t function with a 40 percent reduction.

“We’re already cut at the staff level we have now. It takes all of us to keep the door open,” she said.

“The only thing we’re doing in the clerk’s office that is not mandated (by state law) is passports. It makes us money at the level we’re at right now. There’s not much of a savings there,” she said.

Kolen said the clerk is required to record and archive marriage licenses and to handle elections for all the special districts – schools, libraries, cemeteries, sanitary, port – and state and federal elections.

“We’ve got four employees, one full-time person in elections. We had six in 2006,” she said.

District Attorney Everett Dial said with a major loss of staff, his office would have to cut prosecution of criminal cases.

“In 2007, I lost two out of three staff members and one out of two deputy DAs,” Dial said. “I suspect with this, it would be worse. The end result: We would have to decline cases.”

Dial said he expects that many crimes would be downgraded to violations, similar to a traffic ticket.

“We probably would have to shelve more cases,” Dial said. “It’s hard to say until we get there.”

County Juvenile Director Ken Dukek said his office has already cut its budget by 10 percent this year. He has been able to get grants to make up some of those losses. “But grants are drying up,” he said.

“We’re now down to two probation officers. Next year, with that kind of cut, we would have to lay off everyone except myself and the operations manager,” Dukek said.

He said his office couldn’t handle the 100 juvenile cases it now supervises, cutting that down to 15.

“About 85 cases would be closed,” he said. “Who’s going to supervise those kids at risk? Nobody.”

He said that already the Juvenile Department is seeing an increase in referrals.

“Crime is going up around the country,” Dukek said. “The first programs to go are prevention programs,”

He said the department is able to work with youth at early stages so they don’t commit more crimes. That would change with the anticipated cuts.

Bishop says that the Sheriff’s Department has to do a lot of things that people don’t understand.

“We are to the point with this budget we hold our breath and cross our fingers that no major incident happens. If it does, we’re in trouble.”

The sheriff said that sections of his department that the state partially funds are expected to be cut.

The Marine Board, which funds the water deputies, expects to cut that funding by 38 percent.

Bishop said Curry County can’t expect Oregon State Police to take up the slack. He said six state troopers are now assigned to the county, but the state is cutting two.

“They don’t have resources to take over their own responsibility,” Bishop said. “If I don’t have any deputies, there will be no response.”

“My bottom line budget is me and the jail and the state funded programs,” Bishop said.

He said under state mandates, he must run a jail and serve civil papers.

“That’s cutting out patrol, dispatch,” Bishop said.

“When we go now, who’s going to take over Marine Board stuff? Who’s going to Blossom Bar when someone drowns or is stuck on rocks?

“Who’s going to come one morning when you wake up and one of your loved ones is deceased? Who will get the body? The mortuary can’t do it unless there’s law enforcement to say he’s not smothered or overdosed,” Bishop said. “The medical examiner is nonexistent. They’re not going to take the body unless law enforcement says so.”

Says the Oregon Solutions report, “The possibility of additional public safety cuts worries local leaders and business owners, who cite that tourism and new business recruitment will be negatively impacted by the perception of ‘lawlessness’ in the unincorporated areas of the county.”

Next: Would voters approve higher property taxes?