MARIETTA – Budget reconsiderations and clarifications were the main focus of Thursday’s Washington County commissioners meeting. The 2016 county budget was passed on Dec. 31 but several items needed to be additionally funded and explained.

One item discussed was the cost allocation plan for the Child Support Enforcement Agency.

Kim Hinkle, director of the agency, presented her concerns about results of the most recent audit done by De Novo, a cost allocation study firm being used this year as a first for the county.

“We as commissioners do not pay for the agency…we fund (Hinkle) as the director, but not the agency directly,” said Commissioner David White.

The cost allocation plan maps out what portions of general funding for shared services, provided by the county, should be paid by whom (i.e. the heat consumption within the agency’s building would be calculated for payment by the agency based on various factors like square footage of the space).

Hinkle pointed out that her yearly state funding has gone down 2 percent while the portion of the agency’s responsible cost (as stated by the cost allocation plan) has gone up 50 percent.

“That has a huge impact on the agency,” she stated, referring to the heightened cost of which the agency would be responsible for paying out of state funding.

If the plan is kept as it is, the agency would end up using $49,102 of its state-matched funding just to pay its due portion of the cost allocation plan (like incurred expenses and payroll). The total budgeted for the cost allocation plan is $144,420.

“We can’t survive on what would be left, and then we would have to ask the commissioners for additional funding….to pay salaries even,” Hinkle said.

To resolve this matter, commissioners and the agency are looking to speak with a De Novo representative for possible reconfiguration of payments to come out of Hinkle’s more “infinite” federal budget instead of state funds. For 2016, the agency’s amount of state funding is $185,560.

County building official Chris Wilson wanted to bring to the commissioners’ attention a few budget line items that needed explanation, further appropriation or elimination.

Of these, the matter of largest concern was a $6,342 balance, a remainder of an annual support fee appropriated in 2015 for a new Energov software system. This system, used by Washington County to interact with other county building departments on matters like building permits, was held up in development thus leaving the $6,342 unpaid.

However, the money originally appropriated for the fee (which will now be due in February), was instead used for another payment to Tyler Technologies, which owns the Energov software.

“It’s not that this amount was not paid,” said Wilson. “It was reallocated to other line items due with Energov. Because this fee due date was pushed back to February 2016, the money was instead applied to the ongoing monthly service payments for Energov.”

The software system annual fee spoken about was resolved to be additionally appropriated upon invoicing.

Additional appropriations were made to the following entities:

* $25,031.11 for the City of Belpre sidewalk project.

* $22,634.01 for the county marriage license fund.

* $16,047.98 for added veterans soldiers relief for Washington County Veterans Services.

* A transfer of funds from probate/juvenile court of $30,000 from general supply funds to federal school lunches.