Every $1 of county funds brings $8 from other sources

OSU Extension Service in Marion County is funded by federal, state, and county government, special grant funded initiatives and fees. Marion County has provided funding to the Oregon State University Extension Service for many years. Typically, federal, state and grant funds pay for faculty and staff delivering education, while Marion County and fees pay for support items, such as office staff, materials, rent, utilities, equipment, travel funds and publications.

Annual budget request to Marion County - Marion County provided $348,828 in funding to support Extension programs in Marion County for July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, a 5% decrease from FY 08-09. Attached is the budget request submitted to Marion County.

The County Funds chart in the annual budget document shows the allocation of county funds by category: $165,700 is for personnel expenses, $93,715 is for benefits (OPE), and $89,413 is for materials and services. Marion County provides the office space (4,075 square feet) and utilities as an in-kind match. This is estimated to be approximately $45,000 annually.

The Source of Funds chart in the annual budget document shows an approximation of the various sources of funds supporting Extension programs in Marion County: $483,200 are federal funds, $794,800 are state funds, $348,828 are county funds, $495,800 are grant funds and $175,000 are fees. On average, every dollar of county funds is matched with four dollars of other funds.

Volunteer contribution - We train volunteers who deliver services throughout Marion County. These volunteers provide over 50,000 hours of service every year. Marion County’s volunteer report for 2007 is attached. The value of volunteer time, based on the average hourly earnings as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and compiled by Independent Sector, is $17.33 for Oregon. Marion County increases this amount by 12 percent as an estimate for fringe benefits. Based on these values, our volunteers provided over $1 million dollars in service to Marion County residents.

Using the addition of volunteer effort, every $1 of county funds brings $8 from other sources.