“We’re one of the connectors and drivers of progress.” — Buncombe County Extension Director Steve Duckett
“The state doesn’t really have a revenue problem as much as a spending problem.” The Legislature, he continued, has “a responsibility to identify the core functions of government and really bring government back to what those core functions are ... getting out of the areas that government has unfortunately wandered into over the years.” Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Republican who serves on the committee responsible for drafting the Extension’s budget, did not respond to several requests for comment. Preserving the tax would put an additional $1.1 billion in state coffers, Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene reports. Gov. Bev Perdue had proposed whittling it down to 0.75 percent, which Greene says would still have generated about $827 million annually. It’s hard to say what the Cooperative Extension’s share of that money might have been.
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Local staff positions, programs at risk
Meanwhile, the county is grappling with its own budget crunch, and despite Gantt’s enthusiasm, the Cooperative Extension office — which is in line for the same 7- to 10-percent cut all county departments are facing — must still take a back seat to the most essential budget items. “It’s a priority, but it’s not a core service,” he explains. “Core services are education, law enforcement and welfare. We’re going to have to juggle it, but I suspect our board would give it some great weight and do our best to fully fund it.” The local Extension office receives roughly 49 percent of its funding from the county (about $476,000 during the current fiscal year, which ends June 30) and 51 percent from the state. The county’s 2011-12 budget is still being tweaked, but the most recent draft allocates $431,554 for the agency, Greene reports. “Most likely that will result in the loss of our agricultural technician position and one secretarial position,” Duckett reveals. “This will mean agents and clients will have less program-and-project support, which they will have to pick up. This in turn will reduce the numbers and variety of programs that can be offered.” The office currently employs six full-time agents who work exclusively in Buncombe County and two more who are shared with other counties. For now, Duckett says they’re trying not to let the budget uncertainty and the threat to job security get them down. “It’s a source of anxiety,” he acknowledges. “But we’re just trying to get our jobs done day to day and have a positive outlook.” X Jake Frankel can be reached at 251-1333, ext. 115, or jfrankel@mountainx.com.
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