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County to ask department heads to slash 5 percent of budgets

The Knox County Finance Committee will be asking the heads of county departments funded out of the general fund to cut five percent of their budgets.

This comes as the county faces revenues that are below projections for the year and expenses that are above.

Treasurer Robin Davis reported last night that the general fund has a negative balance of over $1 million, although her office will make a property tax distribution next week which is likely to improve that balance to about $200,000.

Davis says the cuts will likely be more difficult for smaller departments with fewer line items.

Committee Chair Greg “Chops” Bacon says that a benefit of department heads cutting their own budgets is that they know best what they can do without.

“You look at budgets, some of them have 20 line items for towels, office equipment,” Bacon explained. “Just pick five percent, take one percent here, a half percent year and do a little bit without.”

Member Jeff Jefferson says this a fair way of reducing county expenses.

“That will give them plenty of time to come back to us and say ‘boy, I can’t find five percent,”’ Jefferson says. “Then we can delve into it.”

Board Chair Brian Friedrich will draft a letter to the heads and they will each meet with the committee in the fall to check on progress.

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