The Republican contingent of the Salt Lake County Council doesn't want the county's healthy fund balances to take a hit in the upcoming budget session.

A letter sent Tuesday to Mayor Peter Corroon's office from the council's five Republican members urges Corroon not to let the county's $40 million fund balance in the general fund dip to less than $30 million.

Council members David Wilde, Mark Crockett, Michael Jensen, Marv Hendrickson and Cort Ashton also encouraged Corroon to keep the county's municipal fund above $15 million.

"The economy is not likely to grow as quickly, and we're less likely to have the economy bail us out of a deficit this year," Crockett said.

Less economic growth coupled with higher energy prices could put the county in a pinch next year, Crockett said, and the council members want to ensure those healthy reserves stay intact.

Chief Administrative Officer Doug Willmore said the mayor's office never had any intention of dipping too deep into those reserves. In fact, he said the mayor's plan is to keep the general fund balance between $35 and $40 million.

"We've never considered it. They sent this letter to the wrong people," he said. "We don't want our fund balances to be low because that puts us in jeopardy."

Some of the fund balance will be drawn down, he said, even if the budget stays flat next year because of rising costs.

Willmore did say that there are far more requests for revenue than there is cash to dole out and many requests will be turned away. But draining down the county's reserves is not an option, he said.

To keep it's AAA bond rating, Crockett noted that the county needs to keep its reserve funds at around $20 million. While those funds will likely be drawn down eventually, Crockett said he hoped the upcoming budget crafting will not do that all in one year.

The letter from the council members also urged Corroon not to use one-time money set aside for capital improvements for ongoing operational expenses. Willmore said Corroon also never intended to dip into those one-time funds.

"We don't want to plug our operational shortfalls with money set aside for capital projects," Crockett said. "That would only set us up for greater disappointment in the future."

---

E-mail: estewart@desnews.com