By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
The Torrance County Commission approved a budget with a bit of wiggle room for the upcoming fiscal year at a special meeting on July 31.
“We like black numbers and we have black numbers this year,” said county manager Joy Ansley.
County commissioners also seemed to be satisfied with the budget.
“I think (Ansley) has done a great job,” said Commission Chairman LeRoy Candelaria.
The 2008-2009 budget calls for expenditures of about $2.2 million and revenues of about $1.98 million.
The county's balance to begin the year is about $1.36 million, which is projected to leave a reserve of over $1 million at the end of the upcoming fiscal year, well over the $960,000 that is required.
Salary increases were limited to 10 percent, which was given to county employees.
Jim Shields, the county assessor, is a notable exception. His salary is $2,499 over the maximum allowed. The excess pay is allowed as a stipend for Shields to obtain appraiser certification.
The budget also addresses an issue the county had with its previous auditor.
In a letter accompanying the budget resolution, Ansley states the county was completely unsatisfied with the performance of the auditor, Chester Mattocks, who she said hasn't yet completed the audit for the last fiscal year.
That audit, which was due to the state auditor's office in Santa Fe on Nov. 15 2007, is an important document for the county to apply for funding from federal and state sources.
“It's a very big deal,” she said. “A new auditor can't come in late and be expected to be on time … we're right there on the line where we could be behind (next year).”
The county has hired a new auditor, Ricci and Co., which has resulted in an increase in the cost of the audit, from $16,000 to $43,000.
“(The county) is willing to pay more to an auditor who, we believe, will be much more efficient and timely,” Ansley wrote.
Along with a late audit, the county also is waiting for a response from its prison.
Inmate care costs are budgeted at about $1.37 million. The county has yet to renew the contract with the Correction Corporation of America and the Torrance County Detention Facility, tabling the item at its last meeting on July 23 and, though the item appeared on the July 31 agenda, the commission took no action.
Ansley explained that there are a few unresolved issues in discussions with CCA.
“They just didn't get back to us,” Ansley said. “We hate to approve just an extension without knowing what CCA's needs are.”
The Torrance County Detention Facility ranked first nationally for sexual victimization in local jails, according to a report released in June by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics. The department's special report found the facility recorded the highest overall rate of sexual victimization at 13.4 percent, compared to a national average of 3.2 percent.
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