With 2016 looming just ten weeks away, incoming Grand Traverse County Administrator Tom Menzel and the county board are putting on a "full court press" to arrive at a balanced budget.

“The challenge is getting the right numbers,” says Menzel, referring to how far actual revenue will fall short of county commitments. “But it looks like it’s between $3.5 [million] and $4 [million]."

The lack of clarity stems in part from changes in budget reporting standards. “The balance sheets that people in the past looked at didn’t include pension liabilities, which new accounting guidelines say must be put on the balance sheets,” Menzel says.

To begin addressing the deficit, a reduction in health care benefits for past and current county employees -- starting with non-union workers -- was discussed during a special board meeting on Oct. 22. Commissioners tasked county staff with determining how $1 million in health benefit cuts could be implemented with minimal impact; preliminary findings were expected at the next regular board meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).

But Commission Chair Christine Maxbauer Monday afternoon decided to pull budget talks from tomorrow's agenda. The decision came following a three-hour budget meeting with Menzel, Finance Director Dean Bott and others.

“I am pulling the budget discussions item because, as of this afternoon, the information I had originally thought would be prepared is not going to be ready,” Maxbauer tells The Ticker. “We are in the process of preparing a preliminary packet.”

Menzel says that preliminary packet will include recommendations on broad steps to balance the 2016 budget. “I think we have some clarity around structurally required changes, and what we can do and what we can’t do,” he says.

Those recommendations will be presented to the board during the next regular meeting on Nov. 12 meeting, Maxbauer adds.

Menzel, who will assume his role full-time Nov. 17, says the next step would be to identify how the recommendations should be implemented.

“I and Dean Bott will be meeting with the department heads...going over their budgets and seeing where there are areas where we could have some savings this year to get that number down to where it’s a balanced budget,” he adds.

He also says upcoming union negotiations and other factors will play a role in his final recommendations, which would be presented at the Dec. 16 board meeting.

“We are still planning on adopting a budget on the 16th of December,” Maxbauer confirms. “That has always been the plan and that is still the plan.”

Once the 2016 budget is solidified, Menzel hopes to quickly turn his focus to the 2017 budget. “I’ll start the process much earlier and really get to understand their departments and their line items and really drill down in much more depth,” he says. “I plan on doing a much better job the next year.”