Sara Ortega
sortega@weatheforddemocrat.com
As 2009 comes to close, Parker County Judge Mark Riley said he will remember the year for transportation, transparency and a balanced budget.
“Number one is the transportation bond itself,” he said. “It was voted on in November 2008, and we had rather quick implementation with the first project starting in May of ‘09. That’s fast. What we wanted was for the tax payers to able to see results with their money.”
For next year, Riley said he wants to continue “on the fast track” for transportation projects.
“We want to make sure we’re able to take advantage of the good market on our side because we are getting excellent deals,” he said.
This year, Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs began require governments to become fiscally transparent by making their budgets available to the public. Since then, Riley said Parker County is one of two counties out of 254 in the state to receive a “gold star recognition.”
“The comptroller has recognized us for having everything from a financial standpoint online and easily accessible,” he added.
Despite a 12 percent decrease in sales tax revenue, Parker County’s budget balanced for the year without pulling funds from reserves.
“Overall, it was a good year for the general fund and all other funds,” County Auditor Mike Rhoten said. “We were really pleased we had enough revenue to cover any shortages and were able return some to the fund balance.”
Rhoten said many of the savings came from the sheriff’s department through donation and the privatization of the jail.
In October the department received a $100,000 donation from a anonymous foundation and negotiated lower costs from the Community Education Center which oversees the jail. Originally, cost was $39 per day per inmate and increased to $41. After Sheriff Larry Fowler approached CEC, he was able to negotiate the cost down to $40.
“Based on the number of inmates we have right now, it will save the county approximately $125,000,” he said at a previous commissioner’s court meeting.
Riley said the balanced budget saves Parker County residents money.
“The significant thing about the year end budget is that we didn’t have to use any of the reserve balance which saves tax payers money,” he explained. “We were able to put back $75,000 which was how much we anticipated we needed [to balance the budget.] That may seem like a small amount when talking about millions but it’s important in tough times.”
Finally, Riley said he hope to continues services that people see most.
“This is a catch-all phrase but I hope to continue to provide essential services, such as law enforcement, with the most limited form of government that we have,” he added.
