County to boost law enforcement spending
Monday, county commissioners discussed a proposed budget for 2018, which would dictate the amount spent on county activities ranging from building roads to running the
Monday, County Judge
Additionally, the spending plan calls for increasing the sheriff's office budget by
"It highlights this court's emphasis on public safety -- no cuts in the (sheriff's office) -- in fact a year-over-year increase," said Zeller.
The budget would also increase spending on the
Monday, some commissioners expressed support during Zeller's overview presentation.
"It looks like a hell of a plan, Judge," said Commissioner
The budget doesn't allow for automatic pay raises for all employees, but would allow for some employees to qualify for increases, according to the plan. Insurance premiums for employees' health plans aren't expected to rise, despite uncertainty in national health insurance markets.
Additionally, the amount of debt owed by the county for big projects is shrinking -- which in part lead to the county's credit rating recently improving, said Zeller.
Under the proposed budget, the county would also keep a safe amount of money in reserve accounts in case of emergencies.
"This budget doesn't deplete our reserve fund, or rely on layoffs like 2011," said Zeller.
For the most part, the county was able to scrape up more money for law enforcement by squeezing money out of other departments.
The district attorney's office has proposed to reduce spending by about
Later this week, county commissioners will hear directly from department heads about how budgets will affect their programs.
Meetings are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday this week.
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