The Washington Times Herald reports that inflation, fuel, and more are driving up the budget proposal for Daviess County. The county council has just wrapped up two days of budget hearings for department heads and county office holders. Right now, the total amount asked for the budget is around $37.5 million.
There are also some expenses that came in a little higher than the county had planned. That included expanding some of the staff for the courts. One thing hanging over the county is the upcoming courthouse renovation project. The county has set aside around $6 million as a start of funding.
The state has given the county guidance that it will most likely have room to increase the total budget by 5% over this year. Meredith says the council intends to try and keep the budget at its current $34 million level.
The council is expected to formally trim the budget next Wednesday, before giving the auditor’s office a chance to review the revisions and finalize the budget for adoption on Sept. 28.