“Surprise, surprise” is how Bruce Peterson began his letter to the editor before Christmas criticizing the Lewis County commissioners and the county budget. It’s no “surprise,” however, how he got his opinions all wrong.
I have to preface my thoughts first that I do not represent the Lewis County commissioners, any of the county budget staff, nor any of my fellow Lewis County Citizens Budget Committee members.
I was a member of the Citizens Budget Committee, a five-member group that represented the entire county from east to west, north to south. I have been on the committee for several years. One of our members drove over 500 miles from the east end to attend our meetings at the Lewis County Courthouse, which totaled about 60 hours. We met with just about every department head and members of those offices. I won’t list them all, but they included elected officials and leadership, including the commissioners. As a committee, we visited several facilities, both new and old, to view their needs. We saw the county budget up close and personal, especially as it affected county employees.
We looked at the total budget, studied the figures and came up with about 40 recommendations of our own as to how to increase efficiency, reduce expenditures, lower costs and make our county more responsive to the taxpayers.
Several of the recommendations were looked upon favorably by the commissioners. Several were very minor, or changes in policy not affecting any money issues. Others were viewed as impractical, but all were studied and viewed in the light of how they would impact the county. For a minor example, we even reviewed how furniture was reused in moving offices. We did not see unnecessary budget expenses, especially in comparison with last year’s budget.
I take issue with Mr. Peterson’s implications that the commissioners and leadership budget were not impacted by reductions. I saw the facts and figures on paper in black and white ink.
I saw the cuts in the budget that will affect county employees. A county employee who is laid off or found their job eliminated can tell you how they are affected by budget cuts.
Mr. Peterson says, “I would love a chance to go at the county budget and make some cuts.”
I would challenge Mr. Peterson to attend the meetings like I did and raise questions about the budget and its process of being adopted. You will get honest answers. Each of the meetings I attended were open to the public, streamed online and publicized in advance. Did I see Mr. Peterson in attendance? No.
As to the almost 3% increase the commissioners approved, it was not a threat of “public safety.” I saw the reality of less law enforcement from one end of the county to the other. I saw the problems of caring for juveniles in need and how well Lewis County does with them. It was the same with all the departments we heard from. The increase is based on many factors, all studied thoroughly.
I firmly disagree with Mr. Peterson when he says he knows about the lies and nonsense in the county budget. It’s always tempting to gripe about taxes and tax increases, but it needs to be based on facts and figures, and in this case, Mr. Peterson is sorely lacking.
Paul Crowner
Centralia
