Citizen panel to reviews county budget
In forecasting the financial security of Island County, data for expenses and revenues have been considered along with assumptions for future trends.
In these unpredictable and economically turbulent times, it is evident that we cannot rely solely on past experiences to make realistic forecasts, said John Dean.
Budget Director Elaine Marlow has presented the commissioners with her five-year projections for the county’s current expense fund from 2011-2015.
“We have asked some financially savvy community members to ‘scrub’ these numbers, test our assumptions, let us know if they are reasonable, then report their findings back to us at the end of April,” Dean said.
The members of this financial review committee (listed below) represent a broad spectrum of experience and professional knowledge from the community.
“We greatly appreciate their willingness to volunteer their time and talents in this effort,” he added.
• Neil Colburn was the mayor of Langley for four years, served on the Langley City Council for 14 years and has owned Neil’s Clover Patch, a Bayview restaurant for the past 25 years.
• Ed Van Patten had a 20-year career in the Navy, mostly in the areas of financial management, budgeting, accounting and auditing. He then worked as a bank president, comptroller, and college instructor. He retired to Whidbey 20 years ago and serves as a financial advisor for local non-profits and six years as a Port of Coupeville commissioner.
• Vicky Brown owns Little Brown Farm in Freeland raising goats, sheep and chickens. Her previous career was as a corporate CFO and human resources director for several companies including RosArt Multimedia, and Tax Compliance, Inc.
• Dwain Colby is a former Island County Commissioner from Camano Island, serving two terms in the 1990s. He retired after a career in the U.S. Marine Corps.
• Bill Thorn is also a former Island County Commissioner from Camano Island, serving one term from 1998 to 2002. He continues to serve on regional and state senior services and work force boards.
• Chris Richards lives on Camano Island and is property tax supervisor for King County Treasury Operations.
• Jim Bird lives in Oak Harbor and currently serves as special assets vice president for North County Bank.
