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Danville P&Z struggling to stay afloat

July 14, 2009|DAVID BROCK

Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission returned Monday to the Danville City Comission to request aid in making up for a projected $30,000 budget shortfall in the new fiscal year that began July 1.

Chairman Gary Chidester said when P&Z first appeared before the commission in April, it was expecting a $9,000 budget carryover, but that amount turned out turned out to be only $466. Revenue from zoning permits also is projected to be off by $5,000.

Altogether, P&Z faces a $30,000 deficit.

"We've never had a deficit of this size," Chidester said. "In the past, we may have been tight, but we could always move something around. There are no places to move things right now."

Earlier this year, Chidester said P&Z requested $49,000 each from Boyle County Fiscal Court and Danville City Commision. The city budgeted the full amount requested, and the Fiscal Court allocated $40,000.

Chidester said he will return to the Fiscal Court to ask the county to allocate the remaining $9,000. If P&Z receives the $9,000 from the county, the agency would still have about a $20,000 deficit and would ask the city and county to each pay half of that.

P&Z already has been forced to make several attempts at austerity in its operations. The staff had salary frozen and cut by 20 percent for all of 2009-2010. P&Z also has gone from bi-monthy meetings to a single monthly meeting.

"The real questions for you are how tight do you want us to get and what do you want it to look like in the office,"Chidester said.

P&Z has a staff of three that now works four days a week.

"I am in those offices quite a bit, and I know it's already thin," said City Commissioner Kevin Caudill. "I don't think you could make many substantial changes and still accomplish your mission."

City officials voted unanimously to provide half of the funds to make up the deficit of $20,000 once Boyle County Fiscal Court allocates the $9,000 requested by P&Z.

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What do you think?

Should Danville City Commission help Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission with its $30,000 budget shortfall? Go to the home page of amnews.com to take an online poll.

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