It’s been a common start to the budget season across the Upper Cumberland: numbers in the red and overall deficits.
White County Finance Director Chad Marcum said this is not uncommon at the beginning of the budgeting process. Marcum said there are always more asks than there are resources to fund them.
“It’s just like a home budget, there is not always enough money to go around at the end of the month,” Marcum said. “So we have to make those hard decisions. And like I said at the beginning of the budget process, that’s always typical. If it wasn’t that way one year for us, I would be surprised, something would be wrong in my numbers.”
Overton County Schools Director Donnie Holman said he believes most rural school districts are staring at a deficit. Holman said increasing teachers starting pay to $50,000 and the rise in insurance premiums are common. Holman said one way to make up for the shortfall is to not fill open positions.
“We really don’t want to send anybody home,” Holman said. “We’re just trying to mainly look at this from a people to people, retire, resign or whatever. We’re not looking to hire those back if we can get by without it.”
Both Marcus and Holman said the overall costs of goods, services and equipment parts are impacting budgets right now.
Marcum said the budgeting process is like balancing act — a constant effort to find revenue to fund everyone’s requests. Marcum said no matter the the decisions on what to leave in and what to take out, decisions have to be made.
“And just like you do at home, it’d be nice to be able to buy everything that you want, but that’s not the case,” Marcum said. “And so you have to make priorities and follow those priorities and just be good stewards of the taxpayers funds.”
