County Holds Budget Talks

As of Friday, May 18, 2012

Moore County Commissioner Nick Picerno expressed dissatisfaction with several areas of the county budget during a hearing on the subject Thursday night.

Commissioners' Chairman Larry Caddell, Commissioner Tim Lea and Picerno were present for the special meeting, held at the Agricultural Center in Carthage. Commissioners Jimmy Melton and Craig Kennedy were absent.

Caddell turned the program over to Picerno at the beginning of the program, calling him a "humble" man.

"A good, Godly man should be humble," Caddell said. "The budget is his specialty, and he has worked hard with his staff."

Picerno began by stating what he thought the budget "should look like."

"What bothers me is that spending needs to be prioritized," Picerno told County Manager Cary McSwain, who made the budget presentation at the May 1 meeting of the county board. "I believe that public education should have high priority in funding, as well as law enforcement, but over the past few years law enforcement has seen the largest cuts. A lot of the cuts that Cary has given us tonight are in that department, so I have asked the county manager to go back and take another look at this issue."

Picerno said that vacant positions is one area in which McSwain could implement cuts.

"We don't want to fire anyone or lay anyone off, but I was shocked to see the number of vacancies there are in the system. Now would be a good time to scrutinize which positions could be eliminated."

A county employee in the audience stated that there were 27 vacant positions in the county, while Lea said his understanding was that there were 35.

"I take responsibility for this (misunderstanding about budget priorities)," Picerno said. "I didn't give him (McSwain) very good direction."

Each of the three commissioners in attendance gave brief talks to the more than 30 county employees and others who gathered to hear the budget presentation.

Lea said that budgets "are tough, sensitive, and impacting. Whatever road we take it impacts peoples' lives.

"Washington, D.C. has a $16 trillion debt, and Moore County is doing the same thing with the debt that we are accumulating," he said. "And a lot of county employees say they are concerned about what the county manager is doing with the budget and with their health care benefits, but not one time has a county manager ever approved a budget. That lies with the county commissioners. It's a nice political move because he gets hit instead of us. Talk to us rather than the county manager, because that's our responsibility."

Picerno said that he found comparing Moore County government to the federal government "offensive."

"There's a big difference. They're accumulating debt in D.C. while we're paying down," he said. "We're not borrowing money, our budget is balanced."

No action was taken regarding the budget at Thursday's event. Another hearing will be held at an as of yet undetermined date.

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cantstandya 1 year ago

When will the county see revenue coming in for renting out space to other counties in the new detention center?

difflook 1 year ago

Thanks Mr. Picerno for standing up and saying so! WOW Moore County is NOT in debt nor spending like Washington!

witness2 1 year ago

I think McSwain needs to go, he does not seem to know alot about budgeting and he certainly does not know how to prioritize. The county employees certainly deserve not to have a cut in benefits, what a slap in the face, they work for hardly nothing now, benefits make it worth their time.

clbvpm 1 year ago

I was talking with a single mother who is a county employee. She was telling me her insurance cost is increasing soon. She said it seems everytime there is a small 1.5% raise, there is an increased cost of health coverage that absorbs the raise. That is a shame. If the raises are only 1.5%, they are not even gatting a true "cost of living" raise.

doughnuts 1 year ago

You know they are stop signs due to their shape. Next time your at Pinecrest look for them, then ask yourself why the safety officer needs to take a police car home every night.

Toda 1 year ago

Perhaps voters should step back or drive by the Detention Center that has overwhelmed Carthage. Who would want to purchase a home in Carthage?

Even Commission Chair Larry Caddell moved out of town. He was totally aware that should he rebuild on his property in Carthage, the house would be devalued under market price before he moved in,

Taxpayers and voters who haven't made a trip to Carthage to see the 2nd wonder of the Moore County should take a Sunday drive. The first was the WWII German Pillbox known as the Courthouse.

It must be something in the water...like pictures of dead presidents swirling around in Caddell's head....?

How can county employees be given recognition for a job well done? They can see where the money is being spent at their expense....

Toda 1 year ago

On-line readers should go back and read previous Pilot Articles when the dog and pony show came to Carthage last time. Amazing how the same spin permeates the Pilot....

County Adopts Budget, Argues Over Changes by Tom Embrey