Issue of the Month: County Budget for 2015

In October I reported the Commission had adopted the first portion of the FY 2015 budget of $70 M for Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2015. This is the portion that is partially funded by State funds, and runs the same fiscal year as the State. We recently passed the remainder of the budget which runs from Jan 1 through Dec. 31, and is primarily funded by county tax dollars and other local sources. The budget for this additional portion next year is $160 M operations, $12 M debt payments, and $5.4 M for capital improvements. Combined this is $250 M funds under Commission accountability. The County levies 4.2803 mills to cover approximately 54% of that total, plus special millages for the Correctional Facility, Seniors, and Veterans. Nearly 50% of the budget is used for public safety and justice services. A challenge every year is being able to live within a very small increase in revenue from property taxable values, while needing to absorb ever increasing costs for operations of the county functions. The Commission has been able to operate within a ’structurally balanced’ spending plan in recent years—which means anticipated expenditures are never more than anticipated income. With this spending discipline we have been able to maintain a healthy fund balance, with one advantage being the county and municipalities use our AAA credit rating when it comes time to borrow money for major capital projects.