Storm brewing over Pettis County shelters

As Pettis County prepares to shed at least 17 positions in the wake of reduced revenue in 2009, some county officials have denounced the storm shelter project as a drain on county funds.

Last week, county department leaders returned 2010 budget proposals to the Pettis County Commission, who earlier in the week had sent department heads funding allocations for next year that will reduce general revenue spending by more than 18 percent.

Since then, the $2.9 million project to construct eight storm shelters in the county has drawn criticism from some county officials. Despite federal and state reimbursements covering 75 percent of the project’s costs, critics believe moving forward with the storm shelters increases the county’s non-essential spending at a time when they were forced to make difficult decisions about what services to prioritize and which to eliminate.

Commissioners said they were prepared to halt construction of the shelters until the opportunity for the stimulus recovery zone bonding became available. In October, the commission issued about $1.2 million in bonds under the stimulus recovery zone economic development bonding program. Under the program, the federal government will pay 45 percent of the interest accrued over the 15-year debt repayment period.

“These projects were on the chopping block,” Presiding Commissioner Rusty Kahrs said. “If we were not able to roll our portion onto the stimulus facilities bond, they would have been cut.”

Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond, who had to eliminate seven full-time and eight part-time positions from his office for 2010, said the shelter project represents non-essential county spending.

“We are looking at preservation of essential services, and I can tell you my essential services are going to be cut,” Bond said.

Special Projects Director John Pollitt, whose division is down to two full-time employees after several vacated positions were left unfilled this year, said the first two shelters in La Monte and Maplewood are completed, and crews plan to start pouring exterior walls on the Smithton shelter in the coming days.

“The plan is to have all eight complete by October of next year,” Pollitt said.

In 2009, the county spent more than $150,000 from its general revenue for its portion of the storm shelters. Commissioners removed the project spending from general revenue for 2010, transferring its expenses to the stimulus bond funding.

According to municipal bond underwriter LJ Hart & Company, funding from recovery zone bonds can only be used for capital expenditures for property, the construction of public facilities or for job training and educational programs.

Kahrs said if commissioners had the option to reallocate the stimulus bond funding in order to salvage county jobs, they would have considered using the money to pay for personnel.

“That is not a legal option,” Kahrs said. “We certainly would have considered using that money elsewhere if we could have to save jobs.”

However, Bond and others questioned the decision to issue the bonds, which the county will continue repaying until 2024 under current plans, and continue the shelter project.

In 2010, the county will pay $16,400 from its general revenue on bond repayments. Close to $700,000 in debt service payments are scheduled to come in the last six years of the repayment plan.

“I think we need to be looking at scrapping that (storm shelter) project and dealing with what we have today rather than putting us in further debt,” Bond said.

By scrapping the project, the county would not only lose out on the federal and state funding available for the storm shelters, but also the increased public safety options they will provide, Kahrs said.