County surveyor proposes major changes

Hall County Surveyor Casey Sherlock shook up county budget talks Wednesday with some outside-the-box thinking.

First he proposed to combine his existing Surveyor Department with the existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department at a total cost of $200,648. The two departments separately were budgeted at $204,000 in the fiscal year that just ended June 30.

"I can move the program forward without spending more money," Sherlock told county supervisors.

The GIS Department is currently managed by the county's information technology director, Doug Drudik, who was not part of budget talks Wednesday.

Sherlock also submitted a proposal to keep both departments separate at a cost of $207,000. If separate, the surveyor budget was proposed to go up 66 percent from $84,292 to $137,953. A full-time surveyor assistant would be added and new training would be needed.

The merger captured attention because it included a $20,000 salary increase for Sherlock. He would make $82,000 a year under the merger, which includes him continuing to also oversee the county's $4 million Roads Department.

Sherlock said he's worth the $82,000 because he's a licensed surveyor, trained the former GIS department manager (who recently left to take a $60,000 surveyor/GIS job in Dawson County) and would continue to manage the roads.

In the Roads Department, Sherlock proposed the county buy $695,000 worth of equipment, including a $125,000 Asphalt Zipper. The Zipper could be used to convert pothole-ridden asphalt roads back to gravel along infrequently traveled sections of the county, he said.

If the full $125,000 cost was a concern, Sherlock suggested the county do a five-year rent-to-own purchase and pay $30,000 annually. There's also a chance to cost share the purchase with a neighboring county or to rent a Zipper to other counties if Hall County made the initial purchase, he said.

The bottom line, Sherlock said, is that the cost of oil, asphalt and fuel will make maintaining asphalt roads a burden into the future. He's identified a minimum of 11 asphalt roads at the former Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant that could be ground up.

If the Zipper isn't purchased, rented, cost-shared or contracted out, Sherlock wants direction from the county on what to do with roads falling into disrepair. He wondered if they should be closed, barricaded, marked or just left as potential safety hazards.

He also proposed the county buy a striping machine to paint the lines on the county's 188 miles of roadway. He gave a detailed analysis of the cost-savings of owning the machine, but supervisors opted to gather some data of their own and make a decision during budget talks  Thursday.

Overall, the Roads Department budget is up 15 percent from $4 million to $4.3 million. Revenue was up from $1.7 million to $1.8 million due to an increase in a state tax revenue.

Sherlock budgeted personnel costs to go up $70,000 for raises and health insurance and to cover the salary of a part-time county engineer at $12,000 and four part-time seasonal workers at $10,000 each to trim weeds around bridges. Budget consultant Brad Fegley said the seasonal part-time worker idea is not a good one because it has contributed to high unemployment costs for the county in the past.

Sherlock proposed to cut overtime in half, but showed operating expenses up slightly for more costly repairs on older equipment. Supplies and materials cost went up because of asphalt, gravel and fuel costs.

Capital outlay was up for equipment purchases that the supervisors are evaluating.