Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Budget Approved For 2000; Justices Clean Up Year End

As 1999 drew to a close the Clark County Quorum Court managed to pass a budget for the year 2000.

The court met in special session late in December, with two items on the agenda.

First, the justices of the peace passed a "clean up" ordinance to get the 1999 budget in line.

The JPs approved $5,827.72 in new appropriations for '99, along with deletions totaling $1,937.10.

The ending unappropriated balance for the '99 budget was $54,493.01for the general fund.

Overall, the ending balance was $107,455.13.

This ordinance was passed without problem, bringing the court to the matter of a budget for 2000.

Clark County Judge Floyd "Buddy" Manning opened the floor for discussion, asking for suggestions from the justices before the budget ordinance was read.

Manning said it would be a good idea to talk about the budget before a vote was taken.

All in all, though, the justices were satisfied with the plan the way it was presented.

It was brought up the Alpine area had not requested any grants-in-aid money for the year. Manning told the court this is something normally handled during the year as the need arises.

JP Larry Thomerson suggested a new committee be created next year to handle depreciation accounts for the county's new courthouse complex.

This way, he said, money can be set aside regularly for maintenance and repair of the structure. "We spent $1.6 million to build it, and if we set money aside annually, we'll have it on hand to take care of emergencies."

Manning took the idea a step further promising to look at the contingency fund and possibly set up such accounts for all of the county's buildings.

From there the ordinance was read with the budget approved.

The Y2K budget includes a 3.5 percent cost of living adjustment for all county employees and step increases of 3 percent for those who qualified.

It also included the purchase of three new cars for the Clark County Sheriff's Office, but no funds were approved for new road equipment.

For the general fund, the projected revenue was set at $3,755,800, with 90 percent of this appropriated. This means the county can use $3,380,220.

The budget for the judge's office is $60,566.59, with the county clerk's office funded at $140,173.82..

The circuit clerk was approved a total of $155,479.07, while the treasurer received $72,975.20.

The CCSO's budget was set at $720,221.98, with the collector approved for $130,330.01.

A total of $424,855.56 was given to the assessor's office, with the municipal court granted $195,643.03.

The CCQC will have $84,401.82 at its disposal, with most of this being used for salaries, while there was $122,124.52 set aside for courthouse maintenance.

The jail's budget was placed at $488,463.14.

The road department's budget for the year is $2,015,448.83.

In all, the county's budget is a 14-page document, detailing each department's revenue and expenditures for the year.