No 2016 County Budget Yet
The Clinton County Commissioners said today a proposed budget for the new year will not be available in November, as had been past practice. Board chairman Pete Smeltz spoke in general terms, saying the commissioners are looking at shrinking a “gap” between proposed expenditures and income available. He said the gap had been “closed some” but more work needs to be done.
The county, Smeltz said, is considering which capital projects it will be able to undertake in 2016 and which ones may have to be postponed because of lack of financial resources. He also said there have been “four or five” personnel requests from county department heads which are also under consideration.
These factors, Smeltz said, will determine if the county will have a need for additional revenue. County real estate taxes have been unchanged the last several years; they were last hiked in December of 2012, from 4.7 mills to the current 5.4 mills.
The commissioners said the 2016 budget will be introduced Thursday, Dec. 3 with a final passage not likely until as late as Thursday, Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve.
The commissioners did approve a number of structural changes in the personnel setup at the Clinton County Correctional Facility. These were described as part of the reorganization at the Wayne Township lockup instituted by new warden John Rowley.
The commissioners said the county is not ready at this time to hire a new deputy warden, Smeltz terming that choice “down the road.” Rowley reported he has achieved “substantially less” in lead administrative costs at the correctional facility, from as much as $555,000 in 2008 to something closer to $400,000 currently.
