I appreciate the opportunity to present the 2008-09 Baker County budget for your consideration. This past year in America has been characterized by rising energy, food and building costs. It is a challenge for us at Baker County, as well as our citizens, to absorb these costs and continue to function effectively. With our revenues flat, it behooves us to look within our structure to continue our core functions and serve the people of Baker County. Our dedicated employees continue to offer customer friendly service and meet the needs of our constituents. Baker County government must live within our means and thrive with the resources that we have available.

REVIEW OF 2007-08

TRANSPORTATION
After the budget board met last year, Congress agreed to fund PL 106-393 for an additional year. This was extremely good news for the Road Department. Unfortunately, they have not done anything to extend federal payments as we begin our budget discussions. It is extremely unclear whether anything will be forthcoming from the federal budget this year. The State of Oregon passed SB 994 which provides $517,000 (a one time benefit) to the Baker County Road Department. This coupled with 25% of actual Forest Service receipts (between $50,000 and $100,000) will allow us to operate the Road Department for another year at comparable rates. The top priority for myself is to engage the State and Federal officials to come up with a solution which adequately addresses road issues in rural counties. I am cautiously optimistic that we can effect change by this time next year. Roadmaster Ken Helgerson has been a member of the Governor’s Task Force on transportation and has eloquently voiced our concerns.

PUBLIC SAFETY
I would like to complement Sheriff Southwick on his work with the Sheriff’s office, County Jail and Parole and Probation Department. He has built a modern and effective public safety division that responds well to the law enforcement needs of our communities.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT
The Health Department continues to improve in many areas. I believe that we have made great strides in public health in Baker County. The State will be in Baker County in May to do an assessment of the Health Department and we look forward to the results. During this past year we successfully transitioned the School Based Health Clinic from the Health Dept. to Baker Clinic. We believe that this will allow expanded service to all students at Baker High School and Baker Middle School.

MENTAL HEALTH
The Board of Commissioners have spent a significant amount of time analyzing mental health needs and services in the County. Though this has been often times contentious, we believe that many positive changes have been made and we are committed to monitor Mountain Valley Mental Health to provide the best services that the resources will allow.

PARKS
Baker County is fortunate to have a new Parks Director. Karen Spencer was hired in the late fall and has hit the ground running. She is reorganizing operations at Hewitt and Holcomb Parks as well as overseeing the building of a new Comfort Station as part of the Holcomb Park renovation. We welcome Karen’s smile and dedication.

FAIRGROUNDS
The Fairboard has been extremely active accumulating grants and resources for the completion of the Old Armory project now known as the Community Events Center. Though considerable work has been completed, more is still needed. Ann Kniesel and Colleen Taylor, new Fairboard manager, are continuing to solicit grant funds with a need of $150,000 to complete the office area.

VETERANS SERVICES
Arda Johnson, the longtime Veterans Service Officer, retired in late fall. Arda was an outstanding asset to Baker County. Fortunately, we hired Jane Chandler to fill her position. Though Jane had big shoes to fill, we believe that she is well on her way to managing the veteran caseload and keeping her department well intact.

MISC.
During this budget year, we relocated several departments. New Directions Northwest had been renting space from the Fairgrounds and they relocated. This allowed us to move Parole and Probation into the Extension Building. It allowed for more space, which had been a significant issue in the past, This move was accomplished very economically because we had probationers do the bulk of the work. The Juvenile Department moved into the old P &P quarters which allowed them more space and removed juvenile offenders from the basement of the Courthouse. The Planning Department then moved into the basement which was originally designed for them. This allowed them an efficient area to perform their duties, while it freed up space needed in the Assessor’s office.

The Commissioners have been busy working with the Forest Service and concerned citizens to come up with a preferred alternative in the Forest Service Travel Management Plan implementation.We would like to thank all the volunteers that have aided in this effort.

We have worked with Emergency Management, Powder Basin Watershed Council, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts and many other State and Federal agencies to come up with a long term plan to stem the seemingly constant flood potential of Pine Creek near halfway. We have a working group that is pursuing all options.

Finally, the County is finalizing plans for the restoration of the historic Tower Clock in the Courthouse. Thanks to the efforts of Tabor Clarke, the Class of 2009, the Adler Foundation, the Sunderland Foundation and many private donors, the County has entered into a contract with a New York company, Essence of Time, to reconstruct the clock and clock tower. This project will be initiated this spring and will be finished by April of 2009.

REVENUE OVERVIEW

* Property taxes are estimated to be up approximately 3%.
* Justice Court revenues have stabilized though projected down.
* PILT funding is stable.
* State funding is stable as this is the second year of the biennium.

EXPENSES OVERVIEW

* The bulk of the County expenditures are in personnel.
* SEIU contract: 6% raise with employees assuming 5% of health insurance(net of approx 4%).
* In negotiations on a contract with the law enforcement unit.
* Non-represented employees, dept. heads and elected officials are projected at 4% raise.
* Medical Insurance: Blue Cross—5% Pacific Source—assume 12%.
* PERS rates are stable.
* No significant additional expenditures in department budgets.

2008-09 SUMMARY

The budget that you see today is very much a maintenance budget. It is an attempt to keep services stable and keep our dedicated employees in place. Over the next couple of days we will analyze the individual department budgets. I look forward to any insights which you can provide.

We are projecting an unappropriated ending fund balance of $700,000 and contingency fund of $526,000. This is in line with the philosophy that we need approximately a $1.2 million carryover in the budget until taxes are received in November.

Once again, I believe this budget reflects the current needs of the citizens of Baker County. It continues to reward our employees for a job well done and sets a standard for each of us to deliver needed services to the people of Baker County within the funding which we have available. I look forward to your thoughts and deliberations on the proposed budget.

Thank you,

Fred Warner Jr.