This post will serve as the home for all budgetary information for 2021.
The General and non-General Fund budgets were approved on Dec. 17 and then amended and finalized on Dec. 22. The General Fund budget calls for expenses at $17,862,057.89. The General Fund budget features certified revenue for $18 million. All three commissioners thanked County Administrator Stacy Wilson for her hard work on the budget after she spent time getting requests from county departments.
Here are links to the official budget documents:
Here is a list of the major budgetary expenses within the General Fund for 2021:
This chart shows the top 15 General Fund budget lines (not including the miscellaneous line):
Capital Projects plan
During the Dec. 17 meeting, the commissioners prioritized about $1.4 million in capital projects for 2021. County Administrator Stacy Wilson said about $350,000 had already been set aside for capital projects for next year, and the commissioners plan to move additional funding to the capital line (in the non-General Fund) if they deem it financially prudent as more information becomes available. Prioritized projects include replacing the County Services Building wall and making the entrance Americans with Disabilities Act accessible and upgrading the roof on the Department of Job and Family Services building. Wilson, in conjunction with Building & Grounds Maintenance Supervisor John Logsdon, presented more than $2.5 million of capital projects that were deferred in previous budgets.
General revenue information
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have faced a high level of uncertainty in estimating the impact that the health crisis will have on the local economy in the short-term and long-term. The county’s budget commission anticipates about $18 million in revenue, but this figure could change drastically as more data becomes available. Historically, the General Fund’s top six revenue generators are the sales tax, real estate tax, casino tax, Local Government Fund (from the state), investment income and the ICE/jail housing lines. These lines make up for about 80% of General Fund revenue each year, so they are the lines that the commissioners and the budget commission will keep a close eye on throughout 2021.
Follow us here on our website, or on our Facebook page for more information as this situation develops.