A bright financial outlook to close out the county’s 2016 general fund budget is being met with some doubt.

During a budget presentation by Grays Harbor County budget manager Brenda Sherman on Nov. 14, the commissioners learned the general fund could finish the year with a slight budget surplus, rather than the often-warned operating deficit.

The projected surplus is some $63,500, which will contribute to ending cash, projected to finish at about $5.6 million. That’s up from an operating deficit of about $436,000 forecast in September. The commissioners 2016 budget anticipated an operating deficit of more than $1.18 million.

The recently projected surplus relies on each department spending only 97 percent of their respective 2016 department budgets.

“I expect 100 percent,” Commissioner Wes Cormier said. “I don’t foresee that we’ll have 97 percent for all department spending.”

During the meeting, a representative from the Sheriff’s Office said a supplemental budget request for the corrections department soon would be submitted to the commissioners. With 14.42 percent of its department revenue remaining, corrections currently is below the 16.67 percent benchmark.

Meanwhile the county’s equipment repair and rental fund (ER&R) has not billed other departments since May, and Sherman said that could amount to a change of about $300,000. ER&R provides rental vehicles and makes repairs to county equipment, and the department generates funding by billing other departments throughout the county for services. With ER&R billing outstanding, the budget projection could suffer when the bills come in.

“If we can get caught up on that and stay caught up like we’re supposed to be, the budget reports would be more accurate,” Sherman said.

Other issues facing the county’s general fund is a treasurer’s office currently in a state of transition. County Treasurer Ken Albert was sworn in on Nov. 7. Albert currently is working with the office while he transitions to full time, expected on Nov. 28. Albert’s chief deputy treasurer, Shawn Hill, was hired on Nov. 14.

Albert’s successor, longtime treasurer Ron Strabbing, retired on Oct. 31. Current Chief Deputy Treasurer Rebecca Heffernan was named interim department head. Heffernan is planning a Dec. 31 retirement. That creates a salaries overlap, the details of which were not available on Nov. 14.

While it was not known what the impact would be, Cormier noted his frustration.

“Something that’s starting to bother me is we’re seeing a trend where elected officials retire and then leave the keys at the door — then because of lack of succession planning, we’re having to hire these people back at the county for a premium rate to get us out of the pickle we’re in. We have to address it one way or another,” Cormier said. “I’m going to work on something for our managers — some form of succession planning document that they have to provide us before retirement.”

Leading, in part, to the recent increase in the projection is an additional $12,500 for marijuana enforcement funding through the state, and expenditures for the assessor officer’s software maintenance fee reduction (some $75,000 will be paid next year) and a smaller transfer to the software replacement fund (reduced by $54,300).