State-Journal.com - PVA cuts could hurt certifying tax roll

Mike Whitaker, chief deputy of the Franklin County Property Valuation Administrator, said further personnel cuts would hurt his agency's ability to certify the tax roll.

On Thursday, Jonathan Miller, secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, said Gov. Steve Beshear's proposed 4 percent budget cut could mean layoffs within local PVA offices.

The Franklin County office normally has six full-time and two part-time deputies, but one full-time employee left several months ago and the vacancy has not been filled, Whitaker said.

The PVA office is managing as best it can, Whitaker said, but further loses could hurt taxing districts, like schools.

"Things will be delayed if we don't have the personnel to get the tax rolls out and certified to the sheriff," Whitaker said.

"If the sheriff can't bill, they can't turn over money to the schools and other tax districts."

The only money the PVA receives from the state is funds for salaries, Whitaker said, and if that's cut there will be fewer employees to do the work. The PVAs from all 120 counties share money in the same fund, and Whitaker said he doesn't know how cuts would be allocated.

Miller said without additional revenue, such as from Beshear's proposed 70-cent cigarette tax, PVAs would experience even more layoffs. In that case, counties, schools and other tax districts could be forced to borrow money to operate if the tax calendar is not met.

Franklin County Clerk Guy Zeigler said his office would not be greatly inconvenienced by 4 percent cuts at the Department of Revenue which is under the Finance Cabinet. The agency sends out motor vehicle valuation books every month, and Miller said their delivery could be delayed or interrupted.

Zeigler said most of the information his clerks need, including average trade-in and retail value, is stored on a computer system.

The only impact would be when owners request information on the average loan value for a vehicle, Zeigler said. That data is only in the books and would tell buyers how much they can expect to borrow.

"Overall, it's not a critical thing for the clerks," he said.

Budget cuts at the Finance Cabinet would also hurt the maintenance of all state facilities, including the Governor's Mansion, Capitol and other historic properties. Communications Director Valeria Cummings said the cuts would affect aesthetic elements, such as carpets, landscaping and painting.

"Our priorities will still be based on life-safety," she said.

Without additional revenue, Miller said the state would not be able to fund unanticipated catastrophic repairs, such as a leak in the Capitol or an exploding boiler in the Governor's Mansion.

Beshear took his plan to offset the state's budget crisis through cuts in government services and a boost in Kentucky's cigarette tax to the public Thursday night, speaking to a packed high school auditorium.

Beshear, a Democrat, has been touring the state with the proposal he intends to push before the General Assembly when it returns to the Capitol in January. Beshear's "town hall" meeting at Grant County High School marked his last such event of the year.

"People really appreciate these conversations and I find that they learn a lot from these conversations," Beshear said. "I learn a lot from them too, and I have found significant support for some type of additional revenue because people understand this financial situation and how serious it is."

Kentucky is facing a $456.1 million budget shortfall between now and June 30. Beshear has proposed offsetting the budget hole by increasing the state's tax cigarette tax by 70 cents to $1 per pack and cutting most government agencies' budgets by 4 percent.

Top officials in the Beshear administration this week have been outlining how proposed 4 percent cuts would affect government services. For example, Kentucky inspectors would not be able to meet the legally required six mine inspections per year under the cuts, officials said.

A leaner state government workforce, either through attrition or layoffs, would be likely if the state does not get additional revenue.

State government services to help elderly and low-income residents also would be cut or reduced because of Kentucky's deepening budget woes, officials said.

Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller said the state is planning to cut about $1.5 million for local health departments. Officials are also planning to cut about $1.2 million for need-based grants to help grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.

Kentucky's Department of Juvenile Justice is facing nearly $1.7 million in reductions, meaning $400,000 in state funding would be eliminated for 41 prevention programs " such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters " which last year served about 3,100 youth and families, Justice Cabinet spokeswoman Jennifer Brislin said.

A key element of Beshear's proposal is boosting state revenue to avoid cuts, specifically through raising the tax on cigarettes and a doubling of the taxes on other tobacco products.

Brenda Caudill, who runs Noble's Truck Stop along Interstate 75 in Corinth, said that was an idea she opposed before she went to Thursday night's meeting. Now, it's an issue she has mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, such a tax will likely hurt her business. But on the other, she said, it could improve the state's coffers as well as state residents' health.

"I'm torn on it," Caudill said. "I see both sides of the issue."

Mary Lee Willoby, the Grant County coroner, said she was glad Beshear's proposal would not cut most money for education in elementary and high schools. Willoby said she supports raising the tobacco tax and increasing the tax on bourbon as well.

"We definitely need the money," she said. "A lot of the ones who are smoking, we have to pay for in the long term."

Beshear said the town hall meetings give people a better understanding of his priorities and the seriousness of Kentucky's budget woes.

"There's a lot more people in Kentucky that understand where we are now and the financial crisis we're in than before we started," Beshear said. "I'm sure there's still lots of people who don't have sufficient information on it, but I think every time we do something like this it raises the level of awareness of people in the state about these issues."