Just shy of three months after Jefferson County officials began the tedious task of hammering out an operating budget for 2005, county commissioners heard their first round of input from the public at hearings held Monday.

Now in its midpoint, the public hearings process continues through Friday, with commissioners accepting input from their constituents on everything from how many full-time employees should staff the county Assessor’s Office to how much funding should be committed toward managing animal control issues within county boundaries.

Monday’s hearings were sparsely attended, but the public will be invited to weigh in once again when a more finely tuned budget is presented for final approval in early December.

Commissioners on Monday were briefed by department heads who had previously submitted their own budgets for the next calendar year and had an opportunity to seek clarification on any changes from last year’s documents.

Two budget schemes

Department heads were instructed to present commissioners with two versions of a budget: One reflecting a net increase of 2 percent over 2004 expenditures and another with a 15-percent decrease over 2004 levels.

The two would provide commissioners with a range of options as they prepare a consolidated budget, officials said.

The complex process involves not only department-by-department budgeting, but consideration of how some county functions may be more efficiently handled through a consolidation between departments.

It also involves a detailed study of revenue sources.

Treasurer Judi Morris provided information to commissioners on a projected increase of $260,000 in investment income and an unspecified boost in sales tax revenues.

Morris and others also used the hearing to pitch for new expenditures, such as a system designed to allow the county to accept credit and debit cards for the collection of fees.

Morris said she is talking with bank officials to work out details that would minimize county costs.

Overall, she said, the move would bring the county up to date with current technology and consumer payment patterns.

“We have to move forward with this because more and more people want to pay with credit cards or debit cards,” Morris said.

The county’s initial investment would be about $8,000. But the ability to expand collection methods would have an added benefit of reducing losses from bad checks, she said.