By BJ Austin
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-715200.mp3
Dallas, TX – It was a spontaneous kind of thing at Commissioners Court - during a briefing on the 2008 budget outlook. Four commissioners made the pledge - one was absent. Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield says this year they're looking at everything to cut costs. Hiring freezes are an obvious option but the budget scrubbing will go well beyond that according to County Judge Jim Foster.
Foster: I think we could save at least a half-million dollars if everyone in the County would turn their computer off on the weekend.
Budget Director Ryan Brown is ready with a lot of ideas:
Brown: You're gonna see us come forward with a utility plan where we're going to suggest that all employees that have fans or space heaters be removed from the premise.
Or Commissioner Mayfield suggested:
Mayfield: You got a fan, then you're getting deducted 10 dollars a month from your pay for the electricity for the use of that fan.
Legal is looking at that one. And they there's the BLUE PAGES in the phone book. Ryan Brown says a vendor used to pay that cost, now it's 32 thousand dollars a year to list county numbers. Commissioner Mayfield says forget that.
Mayfield: Nobody uses the phone book. So, just make sure we're online. We don't need to be in the phone book. If they want to put us in the phone book, we're not gonna pay.
A vote on the final 2008 budget comes in September.