Preemptive cost-saving pays off for county

McLeod County’s cost-cutting measures this year are helping it to brace for possible state aid cuts.

But, the county doesn’t know how much the total cuts will ultimately be for 2009. And 2010 will bring more uncertainty.

At the County Board’s budget committee meeting Tuesday morning, Colleen Robeck of the County Auditor’s office said a May 19 decision to reduce mileage reimbursement from 55 cents to 30 cents per mile will yield $63,697 in savings by year’s end.

By not filling full-time employee vacancies, or sometimes filling them with part-timers, the county is saving $51,179. The total savings could prove higher, as Robeck did not include figures for positions whose fates are uncertain. For example, the County Board has asked the Highway Department to look at restructuring in the wake of recent employee retirements. “These (reductions), we know we’re doing for the rest of the year,” Robeck said.

“You cut the out-of-state travel … we haven’t put a number to that,” added County Auditor Cindy Schultz.

But, the $114,876 in projected savings only gets the county about halfway toward the target of trimming $241,360 from its 2009 budget. That’s the amount of aid Gov. Tim Pawlenty is proposing to cut as part of his effort to close a $2.7 billion state budget gap.

For more on this story, see the Leader's June 25 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)