We're still a little ways away but
county officials are already making plans for budget discussions.
According to top county bean counter
Casual Chris Caldwell, the administration will hold a meeting with
department heads on Jan. 10. At that point, directors will get
whatever documents they need to prepare their budget requests.
In addition, the administration at the
end of January will know just how much they have to contribute to
pension funds for the upcoming fiscal year, which doesn't start until
next July. (This current year it was $8.2 million for the three
pension plans, including two that are closed.)
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett plans to
present his budget on May 1 and then the county commission will vote
on it June 6.
Caldwell invited commissioners during
their monthly luncheon to come hang out with him and his crew early
next year. He said he'd provide a brief overview “about what we do
in this process, what we do from start to finish and go over the
projection process, so you can see what we do.”
He added: “I don't think it's bad to
have too much information, and seeing how the process works may give
you a better understanding of what we go through and let you see how
some of the decisions are made.”
The Casual One was more than likely
suggesting that maybe the board won't be so hard on the
administration the next time revenue projections are off by, oh say,
$24.2 million.
Caldwell later said: “Once we get all
the requests in we're out $11 million to $15 million, so you'll get
to see how we get there (balancing the budget), how we make that
work. It's magic.”
Said Commissioner Mike Hammond: “So,
I guess we can start calling you Magic Chris.”
Chris: “No, cause you're Magic Mike.”
Heh. Magic Mike. Heh. Hahahaha.
You had to be there.
