County Mayor Jim Coppinger said Tuesday that a no-tax-increase budget includes 1.5 percent raises for county employees. All employees would receive at least $750.
At a budget workshop at the county's McDaniel Building, he said the county was able to meet the full request of the Humane Educational Association for a $260,000 increase. HES officials said the longtime location on Highland Park Avenue is deteriorating.
Also, the county mayor said the budget includes $77,000 to reopen the front door of the Courts Building on Market Street. That will be in addition to the current entrances on Cherry Street.
County Mayor Coppinger said there had been many requests from attorneys for the change. He also said the entrance had become a hangout for derelicts and a blight on downtown.
The overall spending will be $664,436,000 - up by almost $21 million over current spending. Of the increase, he said, "There are a lot of things we can't control."
County Mayor Coppinger said 61 percent of the county spending is going to the education department operations, which had requested $34 million in new income. Another four percent of the budget is for county school debt service.
The county schools will receive $405,685,000, which is up 1.6 percent. He said the county schools also got a $3.4 million increase in the state BEP.
The budget includes a $1,040,000 increase to the Correctional Corporation of America that operates the workhouse. The workhouse population is up seven percent and the jail (operated by the sheriff's office) is up 2.5 percent.
The county mayor praised the constitutional officers for only asking a combined increase of $74,000. The total is $25,106,000. Juvenile Court Clerk Gary Behler had a decrease of $23,000.
The sheriff's department is up $698,000 to $31,592,000. The budget does not include funds for the Bridge Retirement Plan sought by Sheriff Jim Hammond.
County debt service is up $5,881,000, but the county mayor said that will start to go back down after this year as Volkswagen incentive debts are paid off.
The county is adding three employees to the work force of 1,786. County Mayor Coppinger said those are in community corrections, where only three workers now deal with 281 people assigned to the program. Community corrections costs will rise $218,000.
The cost of the pay increase of $1,547,000 is being partially offset by a drop in employee health costs by $1,110,000 due to increased use of a county pharmacy, clinic and wellness program. Another factor is an earlier rise in employee premiums.
The County Commission is due to vote on the budget on June 17.