Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis had a strong message for county department heads at Thursday’s commissioner meeting. “We really have to watch. Everybody needs to be practicing belt-tightening. We cannot go back into the red. We will not go back into the red.”
Though the commissioners unanimously approved payments of $386,000 to meet the county’s budget obligations, he said it was essential to be careful. “I’m glad to see the expenditures here down, but we need to continue as a county to keep our expenditures at a minimum.”
Davis said sales tax and other revenue sources were lagging behind previous years, but expenses had been up. “We need to do all we can to cut costs across the board.”
He said commissioners planned to issue a letter asking officeholders and department managers to keep expenses at a minimum and review their expenses for the year to date.
Davis said commissioners would not allow the county to slide back into the days of fiscal emergency. “If we have to do significant cuts, then we need to be ready. Let’s do all that we can to keep our budget healthy.”
Davis said inflation was hitting every department in the county. “We have time to respond, but we gotta move fast. I’m hoping everybody will be on board with that.”