Repairs of the jail plumbing, upgrades of the 911 system, the development of a recreation program, and increased costs of about ten percent for property/ liability insurance and worker’s comp are all built into the recently released Jefferson County budget for the coming year.
Overall, the general fund budget will increase by $2.7 million from the previous year budget, county officials said last week during the preliminary budget hearing. That represents about a 13 percent increase from the previous budget of $20,504,743.
The proposed preliminary general fund budget of $23,261,291 will be funded by approximately 112.83 mills. County Commissioner Cory Kirsch said the county could have levied 114.83 mills without a vote of the people but chose to go with less. The August 29 preliminary budget hearing attracted only two people not employed by the county, including the Monitor reporter.
