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It's hard to argue with Dr. Michael Faulk's plan to create a new position to supervise the county's crew of part-time coroners.
If all goes according to plan -- a big if, considering we're talking about government here -- Faulk thinks creating the $90,000 a year position could save money or at least be roughly equal to existing county spending. For autopsies, Faulk believes they may be able to have fewer ones, with a full-time coroner. Also for the autopsies that have to take place, that person may be able to take care of all transports, which the county pays $475 per trip. He said with the cost savings of having one person handle more than 40% of all calls, having someone locally available to take care of transportations, possible fewer autopsies, and the cost savings from eliminating a public nurse, the position is mostly covered and could save money in the long run.
It sounds good on paper -- but all of the county's new hires over the past 10 years have sounded good on paper. We refer to the sale of the Chautauqua County Home, a decision that cut roughly 200 jobs from the county payroll. All of those jobs have since been added back to the county payroll. One of the reasons that happens is the legislature and county administrators look at each position in a vacuum to fill a specific need rather than looking at the county's employment levels holistically. That disconnect between evaluating a plan on its individual merits and then in the grand scheme of the county budget is how the budget and tax levy continue to grow each year.
In our view, there are actually two decisions for the legislature to make. The first is if Faulk's plan makes sense. The second is if a position can be eliminated to keep the county's employment levels flat.. It's important to keep an eye on that bottom line so that, when the tax base isn't expanding, taxes can stay level. Continually adding to the county payroll will end up backfiring in the future when the county's tax base growth cools and the public feels the impact of growing tax levies on their tax bills each year. It will be too late then to lament the growth of the county's employment levels.
Legislators should be proactive and, if Faulk's proposal makes sense, make it work without adding to county employment levels.