TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

It appears Kern County makes a profit of about $7.78 on every civil marriage performed by the county clerk’s office.

Between July 2007 and May 2008, the county performed 1,962 weddings at $30 a ceremony — bringing $15,264 in profit to county coffers, according to calculations by The Californianbased on data from county personnel and service departments.

Our calculations showed the county made $58,860 on the weddings and spent $43,596 to perform them.

Auditor-Controller Ann Barnett said in a Thursday e-mail those calculations do not include all administrative costs. She was unable to provide those costs but promised to release some information Friday.

The cost of providing civil marriages in Kern County has become a central issue in the debate over Barnett’s decision to end the ceremonies.

Barnett announced last week that marriage ceremonies will end after today — one working day before gay marriages become legal in California.

Interviews and documents obtained by iThe Californian show she sought legal protection for her decision from a Christian-based group that opposed gay marriage before the California Supreme Court, had county lawyers file documents in support of that delay and sought to give up control of the county clerk’s office without resigning from the other portions of her job.

Critics have called for Barnett’s resignation, saying she is acting on her personal beliefs and discriminating against gay and lesbian couples.

Her supporters hail her as a heroine of the effort to prevent gay marriage.

Barnett’s reasons for taking the action, as expressed in last week’s news release, were “long-term administrative plans, budgetary reasons, and the need to increase security for elections.”

But she has had little contact with the media since the statement’s release and has refused to answer any questions about her motives.

Barnett’s interactions with county budget officials shed a little light on her plans to end civil marriages.

Earlier this year the county, facing a general fund shortfall of more than $47 million, asked all county departments to submit plans for reducing expenditures by 10 percent and then by 20 percent.

In her 20 percent “step-down,” plan Barnett suggested saving $23,827 by eliminating employee overtime and one of seven full-time jobs.

She did not suggest eliminating civil marriage ceremonies.

“As the cost of the marriages is paid for in the form of a fee, the elimination of marriages will reduce revenues,” the briefing reads.

And a comparison of other counties that perform marriages indicates Kern County’s $30 per marriage fee has room to grow — if it isn’t currently bringing in enough cash to cover costs.

Fresno County has a lower, $21 fee for each ceremony but Napa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Diego all have fees higher than Kern’s by between $10 and $45.

Based on the 2,091 marriages conducted in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, a $10 increase in the marriage ceremony fee would generate an additional $20,910 — nearly enough to match the $23,827 money raised by cutting overtime and one employee’s job.

Barnett’s other stated reasons for ending marriage ceremonies were:

• a lack of staff and space to deal with “an increase in both licenses and ceremonies.”

• long-term administrative plans.

• the need to increase security for elections.

Kern County Budget Director Debbie Stevenson said as far as space is concerned, it has been a concern of Barnett’s for a while.

“We have had conversations with her about her need for extra space in that area,” Stevenson said.

In the past, however, Barnett has requested that she be given access to space on the first floor of the County Administrative Building that will be vacated when the Kern County Employees’ Retirement Association finds larger offices.

Stevenson said she could not comment on what long-term administrative plans or security needs for the elections office Barnett referred to when she chose to end marriage ceremonies.

Barnett has refused to answer any questions clarifying her news release.

The Kern County clerk’s office will provide same-sex couples with marriage licenses — as required by law. But the office will no longer commission members of the public to perform civil marriages.