From the Lafayette Journal & Courier:
Call Tippecanoe County’s recent budget news a good problem to have.
Last week, the auditor reported that the county started the year with $8.6 million in cash reserves, which was more than double what was anticipated. With $7.5 million of that uncommitted — meaning the county hasn’t already pinned it to some use — the county’s rainy day funds have pushed to $18.5 million.
In the scheme of a $38.4 million budget, that’s a nice pocket of reserves.
How that money wound up with the county is a mixed bag, including some higher revenues than expected and, ahem, a local share of $300 million in income taxes the state misplaced and then found last year.
But give the county credit, too, for something more than dumb luck: the departments left $2.8 million of budgeted money on the table in 2012. “The biggest surprise was what we had in unspent budget,” said Jennifer Weston, the county auditor.
As with all nice problems, there still is the problem side of the equation. The Tippecanoe County Council has to figure out what to do with an account so flush.
Local governments have been in scale-back mode for long enough now that no screams went up immediately for huge investments in special projects. That gives the county an opportunity to play things carefully — looking back at routine expenses that were pushed aside during recession years and figuring out whether those things are needed again. The first place to look would be road maintenance, which has been kept in check in recent years.
Once those are done, could the county consider a reduction in taxes — even as a one-time thing — to help put some of that surplus back into taxpayers’ hands? The answer is yes. How to do that is a matter worth vetting.
That could be problematic during the coming year. But, then again, it’s a good problematic, right?
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301140004
