Trust fund shortage leaves county with $150k budget gap

A reduction in Alabama Trust Fund monies is costing Houston County $150,000 in revenues, but officials are attempting to offset that shortfall by saving money in other areas.

Former Alabama Gov. Fob James allowed a percentage of trust fund monies made from investments and interest to be distributed to Alabama cities and counties. The money comes from oil and gas royalties.

“We were notified our projected revenue is $196,000,” said County Chief Administrative Officer Bill Dempsey. “We have budgeted $350,000 so we will have $150,000 less in that one revenue line item.”

A downturn in the economy, including stock market and investment losses, accounts for the reduction.

“The money we are getting comes from the interest,” Commission Chairman Mark Culver said.

The funds do not come to the county until April, Dempsey said, but it is important to plan now for that shortage. Some of it is currently being made up through reduced fuel costs, but prices can go back up. County Engineer Mark Pool said the county is currently paying $2.05 a gallon for regular gasoline and $2.48 for diesel.

The Voter Registration department is also making up some of the shortfall. They are transferring funds needed for new computer equipment to pay for a part-time employee to help process an overwhelming number of new voter registration forms.

Since July, the office has received more than 5,400 voter forms. Officials said 1,000 registered on Friday, which was the deadline.

Dempsey said the fact that one account is short is not a tremendous problem.

“When we approved the budget, we had a target of $4 million to end this fiscal year,” he said. “This puts us under that amount. We are still OK financially but we have to control our expenses.”

The county’s annual revenue is $35 million.

“We know this is a little piece of it, but when you look at the bottom line, when revenues go down, the bottom line goes down, just like with your checking account,” Dempsey said. “The key issue to us is be aware of where we stand so we can respond.”