Today, December 22, 2009, the Logan County Board of Commissioners announced that they adopted a temporary annual budget for 2010.  The framework for this decision is as follows:

·                     In the temporary budget for 2010 the Commissioners will fund all Elected Officials at the 2009 level.  However, given the recent reductions in the projected revenues for 2010 maintaining this level may be very problematic

·                     The Commissioners will NOT be asking for additional taxes

·                     The Commissioners believe that county government must live with what is available, just as the citizens of Logan County must live within their income

·                     The Commissioners will NOT be diverting money into the General Fund from other County funds that the public has voted for specific use

·                     Some agencies such as Soil & Water, OSU Extension and The Agricultural Society will receive a significant reduction in funding

·                     The temporary 2010 general fund budget amount will be $14,226,380.82.  This amount will be adjusted in January 2010 as required

·                     It is important that we consider the “end of year” cash balances in the 2010 budget discussions since we will be using part of that “carry-over” amount to fund the 2010 budget

·                     Since we do not believe the revenue challenges will end in 2010, and since the revenue projections for 2010 are so significantly reduced, we are looking at various methods to close the potential budget shortfalls such as:  sale of county property, delay in payment to other agencies, and/or additional reductions to General Fund Offices

The Commissioners will continue to monitor the situation closely with other elected officials and advise you as changes are required.

We continue to be impressed and appreciative of the efforts of all elected officials, county employees, departments and agencies as we pull together to make it through these challenging economic times.