The Freeborn County 2009 budget could see a $1 million reduction between now and December.

The Board of Commissioners in a special meeting Wednesday unanimously approved the preliminary budget at $37,106,862. With that approval, the commissioners decided to cut $250,000 each from the Human Services Department, general revenue, Highway Department and capital improvements funds.

After a $1 million cut, that would leave a $546,000 shortfall. The budgeted, preliminary revenue is estimated at $36,560,000.

“I feel real confident with this,” said Commissioner Jim Nelson.

The Sept. 2 meeting saw the preliminary levy approved at 5.9 percent, down from 6.9 percent last year. The exact impact on the average taxpayer is not yet known, according to Assessor Ryan Rasmusson.

The projected shortfall before the $1 million cuts would have been $1.5 million, according to Commissioner Dan Belshan. At the Sept. 2 meeting he suggested cutting $1 million, and this meeting he moved to cut the total by reducing all available funds by 3 percent, but the motion died for lack of a second.

The budget shortfall comes from a combination of things, according to Freeborn County Administrator John Kluever. In addition to rising costs of everything and limits on the levies, the state is requiring programs that either it is not paying for or only paying for partially.

“The cost shifts from the state, it’s really tough to deal with,” Kluever said. “It’s one thing to limit the amount of revenue, but when they ask you to do more in terms of expenditures it’s sort of a double whammy, so to speak.”

But a budget shortfall at this stage in the budgeting process isn’t unusual, he said. The preliminary budget is taking all the requests from county departments and outside agencies.

The cuts are not specified nor set in stone, according to Finance Manager Bill Helfritz. The budget is preliminary and required by law to be sent to the state by Sept. 15, along with the levy.

“You’re not bound at this time by this number. This number basically doesn’t mean anything at this time. It’s just a number that has to go in by state requirements,” Helfritz said.

“I think we are all in agreement that it is too big and needs to be cut,” he continued. “We will be working diligently to try to find ways to reduce it.”

That means the $250,000 cut from each of the four departments is fluid. The budget can be added to or subtracted from until it is officially approved by the commissioners in December, according to Helfritz. And even after it is certified, the board has the power to make amendments as necessary.

Kluever said he was advised by Helfritz to work on a budget with a 5.2 percent levy, which means a total tax revenue of $833,000. There are special levies that the county asked for which may be factored into the final budget. However, the state first has to approve the special levies, which could go to the Human Services Department and the Sheriff’s Office.

The administrator said he will come before the board on Oct. 7 requesting further budget workshops to set the county budget for 2009.

“My goal is to come up with something reasonable that everyone can live with,” Kluever said, adding he will work with department heads and elected officials to make the cuts.