Alamance County has problems balancing the budget. There are a myriad of reasons why, but most of them can be placed squarely at the feet of county government leaders. On October 7th, Alamance County Manager Craig Honeycutt held a meeting with county department heads to discuss a projected budget shortfall and his suggestions for budget cuts. At the front and center of the agenda for the meeting was a suggestion to furlough employees for additional days in this fiscal year and potentially cut employee benefits including longevity pay, 401k contributions, and insurance.
On October 14th, the County Manager had his assistant send an email to all county employees and the County Commissioners indicating that areas other than employee benefits would be presented to the Commissioners for potential cuts. I would like to accept this at face value, but have seen firsthand over the last several years that cutting employee salaries seems to be one of the preferred means of balancing faulty budgets.
I debated hard about whether to speak my mind during the public comments period at the County Commissioners Meeting this evening. I decided that someone needed to speak what was on the mind of every county employee. I spent a great deal of time reviewing videos of the Commissioners Meetings from the last couple of years. I read the county budget, news articles concerning the budgets of local municipalities as well as articles concerning the Alamance Burlington School System Budget and fraud within the welfare programs of the Department of Social Services. I prepared comments, which I delivered in part at the Commissioners’ Meeting this evening. I was unable to complete my comments due to a three minute time limit imposed by the Commissioners on public comments. However, I was able to leave copies of the full text of my comments with the Commissioners and the news media covering the meeting. As a courtesy to my friends, co-workers and other citizens, I am providing a copy of my comments here:
My name is Marcus Orr. I’m a resident of Graham and a domestic violence investigator with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. I’m here tonight representing myself and the concerns that I have for the taxpaying citizens of Alamance County and the employees of Alamance County Government. I have also spoken with numerous other employees who share my concerns and I believe that what I have to say represents many of their views.
There has been a great deal of anxiety among employees over the last couple of weeks as information came out that our county manager had met with department heads concerning potential cuts in order to avoid further reducing the fund balance. It is my understanding that potential cuts to 401k plans, insurance plan changes, and longevity pay along with adding more furlough days were under consideration.
On Friday, October 14, I received an email from Tory Frink on behalf of our County Manager, Craig Honeycutt which stated:
“At this point, no additional cuts to benefits for full-time personnel are being recommended to the Board of Commissioners (no additional furlough days/401k cuts/longevity/insurance changes/etc.)”
I’m appreciative of the work of the Department Heads and County Manager’s Office in working to find areas to cut other than employee’s benefits to avoid budget shortfalls. However, the fact that cutting employee benefits was even on the table for discussion is an insult to the loyal employees of this county. Loyalty is a two way street. At the moment the loyalty of the county government to its employees seems questionable.
My story is like that of many other employees. My personal budget is tight. Like the position the county now finds itself in, I have had to move money, borrow money, and cut in some areas to make it by. But, I have been loyal to this county while my pay has been taken through furlough days to alleviate previous budget problems. I have been loyal to this county while I have not received a cost of living raise. I have been loyal to this county government while the employees of surrounding municipalities have enjoyed budgets that: not only did not require furlough days, but also afforded raises. (City of Graham, employees received a 2% raise and Mebane received a 3% raise across the board while Mebane Police and Fire allocations were raised by 5% and Burlington Law Enforcement Officers have been eligible for annual raises since 2008) These other municipalities face the same revenue challenges as our county government, yet they have found ways to make their budgets work without repeatedly targeting their employees.
As an employee of Alamance County, I encourage you to demonstrate the same loyalty to employees that they have shown to you. I know that each of you have made decisions for this county in good faith, based, in part, on the information that you have been provided from the County Manager’s Office. As a taxpayer, I encourage you to carefully consider options to reduce the budget and safeguard our fund balance. There are other areas in which expenditures should be examined more closely, some of which have been identified already by members of this board. I understand that the recommended fund balance for school systems is 10% of annual operating budget, yet Alamance Burlington School System entered this year with a 14.3 million dollar fund balance, approximately 11 million dollars more than recommended 10%…since 1996, the school system has had money budgeted to increase their fund balance. In all but 3 of the last 15 years, they have not had to use the budgeted funds, but instead increased their fund balance. Those figures don’t even include the lottery fund balance. Last fiscal year, ABSS was asked to return 2% to the county, an amount equal to $760,000. Instead, they returned $460,000 while growing the fund balance by 4.8 million. The School system has banked money even while laying off its own employees. I reviewed this year’s budget and was shocked by the amount of expenditures designated for non-profit organizations. I am grateful for the services provided by these organizations, but question the use of my tax dollars to ensure their well-being. One of the largest expenditures for our County comes from welfare programs administered by the Department of Social Services, which on several occasions this past year has drawn criticism and media attention due to fraud both from within and outside the department. It is infuriating to know that our salaries and futures are potential targets for cuts while any money saved from cutting my salary feeds, houses and even provides telephones to illegal immigrants and criminals while taking away from the provision of the same things for my family.
At this year’s budget retreat, the County Manager projected a loss in tax revenues of 3 million dollars. A month later, Mr. Honeycutt presented a budget that he said was “Basically Balanced” with projected positive growth in tax revenues. At the time the budget was presented, Mr. Honeycutt said that the budget figures were being “redefined every day” and that the “figures will change slightly”. Now, that we are learning of different figures impacting our budget once again, I hope that you will carefully consider why we are encountering these problems when those around us are not. I ask that you look at ways to reduce unnecessary expenses. But most of all, I ask that you be fair to the taxpayers and be fair to the loyal employees of Alamance County.
I hope that the Commissioners truly consider my comments and, when making their budget decisions, regard the loyalty of county employees, many of whom showed up at the meeting this evening. Speaking of employees that showed up at the meeting, it was a truly disrespectful move to send employees to the overflow room. *A big thanks to Lash Wrightenberry for pointing that out to the Board and a big thanks for his support.* To those employees that took offense at my decision to remain in the Commissioners’ room, I can only offer to you that I attend as many Commissioners’ Meetings as I am able, this one was no different, I sat with my wife in my usual place, and I was willing to be removed in handcuffs if told to leave. Remember that being a county employee doesn’t require forfeiture of your rights as a taxpaying citizen..
