 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 33, No. 23 * December 10, 2001 Table of Contents | Next story Board adopts $20 million FY02 budget By Tom Goodman
The NACo Board of Directors, meeting in Santa Fe County, N.M., adopted on Dec. 1, a $20 million operating budget for the Association in FY02. A day earlier, the board approved homeland security and election reform as the top legislative priorities for 2002. The board also identified other legislative issues the Association will pursue. They include support for collecting sales taxes on goods sold over the Internet or by catalog, opposition to unfunded mandates, reauthorization of welfare reform and support for deployment of broadband Internet capacity in rural and inner city communities. The 2002 budget provides for a surplus of $594,000, which is 2.8 percent of revenue, but no new programs or new staff positions. “This is a conservative budget,” Executive Director Larry E. Naake told the board, pointing out that the downturn in the economy and projections of less revenue dictated decisions on the budget. Naake added, “If we see after the first quarter that revenue continues to go down, we will take the necessary steps that recognize those losses and freeze positions and make even deeper cuts in the budget.” The adopted budget is $400,000 less than the one originally proposed to the board. On Nov. 29, the Executive Committee and the Finance Committee recommended that expenditures be further reduced because of lower revenue projections from the Deferred Compensation Program. In reviewing the budget, board members suggested reductions could be made in expenses for conferences. Hamilton County (Ohio) Commissioner John Dowlin recommended that conference expenses should be brought down to the 1997 level. Hennepin County (Minn.) Commissioner Randy Johnson said staging costs for the conferences could be cut. Naake said conference costs for food, beverage and audio-visual have risen sharply in recent years and would be difficult to eliminate. But he added that all conference costs would be reviewed and cuts would be made where possible. The policy decisions on the budget approved by the board included:
The largest source of revenue for the 2002 budget is from NACo’s profit-making companies and royalties from the Deferred Compensation Program. This amount of $7.3 million is followed by $3.8 for membership and corporate membership dues, $3 million from building revenue, $2.5 million for conferences and $2.2 million for grants and contracts. The top expenditure for the budget is $5 million for management, overhead and benefits. Expenses and payments for the profit-making companies is $3.6 million. Expenditures for Legislative Affairs and conferences are $3.8 million, followed by grants and contracts at $1.8 million. NACo will conclude the 2001 budget year again in the black with an estimated surplus of $504,000. |
