If Bee County resident William Yates had his way, commissioners would institute a hiring freeze, slash salaries and benefits, and consolidate offices rather than ask for a property tax increase.

Yates was the only person to speak at Monday’s public hearing on commissioners’ proposed 3-cent tax rate hike.

“These are tough times for everybody and tough times call for drastic measures,” Yates told county leaders.

Commissioners will hold a second public hearing on the proposed tax rate increase at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16.

Monday’s hearing, the first of two mandatory public hearings, also began at 6 p.m. but no member of the public was present until Yates showed up nine minutes later.

“Is this a first?” County Judge David Silva asked the commissioners, referring to the absence of the public at a hearing for a proposed tax rate increase.

“Yes,” the commissioners responded.

Silva, jesting, wondered aloud if they should send Constable Tom Brown down the halls of the courthouse in search of someone to comment at the public hearing.

Lou Trlica, director of the Bee County Expo Center, which is owned by the county, told commissioners she appreciated all their hard work to balance the budget.

Silva responded by saying he and commissioners had, indeed, cut the proposed budget to the bone.

“I would like to say we have a balanced budget but we don’t,” he said. “We worked hard at it but we’re not there yet.”

Silva and the four commissioners have informally approved a proposed spending plan that calls for them to take $138,000 out of the reserve fund to make ends meet this year.

The proposed budget, which will finance county operations from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2009, also calls for a 3-cent per $100 tax rate increase and a 3 percent across-the-board pay raise for county employees.

Yates said commissioners should not be thinking of a tax rate increase this year or pay raises for employees.

“Everybody else is cutting back but the county is looking at raising taxes for a pay increase,” he noted.

He said private businesses are having to cut personnel and benefits and even services in these times of economic hardship and county, state and federal government should follow that example.

“Businesses are tightening their spending and the county should too,” he said. “We’re in a pinch financially and we have to tighten our belts to save money.”

He made numerous proposals to help commissioners trim the county’s expenditures.

They included:

* no property tax increase without voter approval.

* commissioners should provide a detailed breakdown of county finances to the public, including how much is being spent and on what, what needs to be funded and for how much, and what cuts were made.

* a hiring and wage freeze for an indefinite amount of time.

* a reduction in employee pay and/or a cutback in staff for an indefinite amount of time.

* a cutback on benefits.

* an elimination of all donations to outside organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club, with taxpayer money.

* a consolidation of county offices to reduce personnel and salaries.

* a wide use of county inmates to perform ground and street maintenance projects. “We house them. We treat them. We feed them. We cloth them. We need to get our money’s worth out of them,” he explained.

* an elimination of all non-revenue-generating county services, such as the indigent fund.

* an elimination of all non-essential county offices and personnel. He said that includes the possible consolidation of justices of the peace offices and courtrooms.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Susan Stasny thanked Yates for his suggestions.

“I think you had a lot of excellent ideas,” she said.

However, she noted, she and other county leaders slashed $750,000 or so from the budget two years ago and the same amount from this proposed budget.

She said she and commissioners cut five positions from the payroll as well.

As far as cutting the indigent services, Stasny said the law requires county governments to spend a certain amount (8 percent of its general revenue budget) annually providing health care to the poor, even if they are not Americans.

She said the county is prohibited by law from giving tax dollars to charitable organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club.

Also, the law prevents the county from forcing county inmates to perform labor.

Silva told Yates the state prisoners often perform ground maintenance for the county out of their own free will.

Stasny admitted she and commissioners have never openly discussed consolidating the four county justice of the peace offices. Two JPs are located in the courthouse and one has an office in south Bee County and the other in north Bee County, she said.

Silva said 70 percent of the county’s budget goes to providing benefits and pay to personnel so “there isn’t much wiggle room.”

Precinct 1 Commissioner Carlos Salazar Jr. told Yates that taxpayers will actually pay less taxes to the county this year.

He said the county is presently charging taxpayers about 44 cents for every $100 worth of property they own. This year they will be charged 41 cents per $100 value because property values countywide have increased since last October.

Because of that increase, estimated at $144 million-plus, the county can actually lower its tax rate from 44 cents to 38 cents and still generate the same amount of tax revenue as this year.