The Knox County Finance Committee is considering hiring a company to conduct an analysis of fees in the county clerk’s office and what appropriate staffing levels should be across all county departments.
County Clerk Scott Erickson brought the proposal to the committee last night from Bellwether LLC out of the Bloomington/Normal area.
The roughly $23,000 needed to conduct the study would be taken from the county’s landfill fund, Erickson says.
He tells WGIL the study would give board members a “template” for what staff is legally necessary and where cuts could be made.
“It’s about a 12 week study. They go through certain fees in certain offices to see if there’s a potential for raising fees in those areas that generate revenue,” Erickson says. “And the second phase of that is looking at departments.”
The committee battled a $1.2 million general fund deficit in November without making personnel cuts but at the time members Dick Conklin and Greg “Chops” Bacon expressed doubt about whether all jobs could be saved next year.
Erickson says the analysis doesn’t guarantee personnel slashes but will be used as a tool in balancing the budget.
“We don’t want to lose anybody just kind of willy nilly,” Erickson says. “Not having a plan or a reasoning behind staffing reductions.”
The full board is expected to take a vote on the study at their March meeting.
