What Does Bare Bones Really Mean?
Once upon a time I understood "Bare Bones" to mean no meat left, down to the barest essentials. Some of you remember way back when you went to buy a new car there was the "bare bones" model that you added extras too, I remember getting ready to buy my very first brand new car, a 1964 Ford Fairlane. The dealer said he could get me a real great price. $2,100.00 was the base price then I added a radio, two outside mirrors, a four speed in the floor and the ultra powerful 289 V8 and before i knew it the cost was over $3,000.00. What a shocker so I tried to order the bare bones model and was told there were none available and I would have to pay extra to get the basic model.
The point is I learned very early on that what's often advertised as "Bare Bones" many times actually cost as much as the luxury model after the smoke clears.
Last year the county adopted a budget, that no one was allowed to question in the required public meeting, it was described as "Bare Bones". Everything had been cut to the very bone and some were cut tot the marrow. When questions were asked in committee meetings about how could there be such extreme, advertised at least, cuts yet the total money was higher than the year prior?
Assurance after assurance was given that there was nothing left to cut, even when a list of proposed cuts was offered and rejected,
In the 13 March issue of the Pulaski Citizen it was stated that amendments were required by the school and other departments that required no new money. This was discussed in the recent Budget Committee Meeting but no one asked the question if there was no new money and the budgets had been "bare bones" how did they have so much money to move around. Here's an example The School Board asked for amendments for such items as $17,000 for a new mower at Richland; $150,000 for consultants and 150,000 for contracted services; 75,000 for distance learning, 45,000 for a speech pathologist; 50,000 for bleacher seats; 85,000 for bus drivers now add to that the lose of a reported $456,000 in state funding and you have a total of $572,000.00 in new spending coupled with a loss of $456,000.00 and that's a total of $1,028,000.00 in changes to the school budget with no new money. Now I am not questioning whether the need exist for these items, I suspect they probably do. What I am questioning is how in a "Bare Bones" budget did they find more than a million dollars to spend on non budgeted items?
Now, understand as we come closer to the adoption of the new budget some departments seem to be in a hurry to spend the excess money from this years "Bare Bones" budgets. Proposed $22,000.00 in bonuses for Highway Department personnel, $88,000.00 in the Ambulance Department for turnout gear and remount of a chassis. Again I am not questioning the need for these things only the appropriateness of such spending when the county is basically broke and these things could easily be budgeted for in the new budget if justified. As long as departments are allowed to proclaim "bare bones" budget when everyone know better, then that extra creates a rash of last minute spending to get rid of the excesses so they can come back next year and declare declare their desperate need for more money because they spend all their "bare bones" money last year.
The point is I learned very early on that what's often advertised as "Bare Bones" many times actually cost as much as the luxury model after the smoke clears.
Last year the county adopted a budget, that no one was allowed to question in the required public meeting, it was described as "Bare Bones". Everything had been cut to the very bone and some were cut tot the marrow. When questions were asked in committee meetings about how could there be such extreme, advertised at least, cuts yet the total money was higher than the year prior?
Assurance after assurance was given that there was nothing left to cut, even when a list of proposed cuts was offered and rejected,
In the 13 March issue of the Pulaski Citizen it was stated that amendments were required by the school and other departments that required no new money. This was discussed in the recent Budget Committee Meeting but no one asked the question if there was no new money and the budgets had been "bare bones" how did they have so much money to move around. Here's an example The School Board asked for amendments for such items as $17,000 for a new mower at Richland; $150,000 for consultants and 150,000 for contracted services; 75,000 for distance learning, 45,000 for a speech pathologist; 50,000 for bleacher seats; 85,000 for bus drivers now add to that the lose of a reported $456,000 in state funding and you have a total of $572,000.00 in new spending coupled with a loss of $456,000.00 and that's a total of $1,028,000.00 in changes to the school budget with no new money. Now I am not questioning whether the need exist for these items, I suspect they probably do. What I am questioning is how in a "Bare Bones" budget did they find more than a million dollars to spend on non budgeted items?
Now, understand as we come closer to the adoption of the new budget some departments seem to be in a hurry to spend the excess money from this years "Bare Bones" budgets. Proposed $22,000.00 in bonuses for Highway Department personnel, $88,000.00 in the Ambulance Department for turnout gear and remount of a chassis. Again I am not questioning the need for these things only the appropriateness of such spending when the county is basically broke and these things could easily be budgeted for in the new budget if justified. As long as departments are allowed to proclaim "bare bones" budget when everyone know better, then that extra creates a rash of last minute spending to get rid of the excesses so they can come back next year and declare declare their desperate need for more money because they spend all their "bare bones" money last year.
posted by Allen Barrett | 7:40 PM
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