The County’s budget for FY 2017 passed third and final reading without comment Monday evening.
The $38,852,148 budget is up $5,574,807 over last year’s budget of $33,277,807.
The new budget allows for a two percent one-time bonus for county employees, and it does so without a tax increase. With more revenue than was budgeted for last year, the county’s fund balance grew by over $5 million this year.
One of the biggest capital outlays in this year’s budget is $500,000 for Fairfield County Behavioral Health that will go toward construction of a new facility. Chairman Billy Smith asked to have contingencies on the request so that if the building were sold within the next 20 years, the $500,000 would be paid back to the County.
Other larger expenses reflected increases in salaries to the County’s emergency departments. Among the biggest increases in the budget were the Sheriff’s Department ($307,201), the Detention Center ($224,524) Emergency Management ($206,976) and EMS ($276,301). A $162,962 increase in the Animal Control Department was due to increased services and personnel and facility upgrades.
Revenue Up
On the revenue side, Property Taxes are expected to bring in an additional $875,482, with the Multi-County Industrial Park accounting for $650,000 of that amount. Revenues from the State are up $573,514 and total Special Revenue Funds are up $1,037,411. Budget documents can be found on the County’s website at www.Fairfieldsc.com.
