Saratoga County supervisors slash budget requests

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

Facing a possible $7.7 million budget shortfall by year’s end, county supervisors cut an unprecedented $2.2 million from 2012 departmental budget requests today.

Instead of $20.3 million in departmental capital budget requests, the number was cut to $18 million and the 2012 capital projects budget was finalized.

The county’s phone system is aging and sometimes unreliable and the time clock system for county employees is antiquated, county department heads told the county’s Long Range Planning Committee. But requests to replace those systems were cut from the county’s 2012 capital budget during a committee meeting at the Saratoga County Municipal Center.

“I am very concerned about approving anything new this year,” said county administrator Spencer Hellwig III.

Hellwig said the large cuts in departmental budget requests are unprecedented. But he said the current difficult and uncertain economic conditions call for a budget at or below this year’s spending plan of $294 million. He said he would like to see the county actually reduce the 2012 budget below this year’s spending levels.

Hellwig expects about $7.7 million of the county’s $19 million surplus fund will be used to balance the budget and again avoid a county tax rate increase in 2012.