AUGUSTA — The Kennebec County Budget Committee approved a county spending plan that at $12.3 million is 2.99 percent higher than the current year’s budget.
If there are no changes that arise from public hearings scheduled for late May, that’s the budget that will go into effect on July 1, but it still might undergo some changes.
That’s because while the county has to have its spending plan in place for the start of its fiscal year on July 1, county officials have no idea what amount of funding they will get from the state to help pay the costs of the Kennebec County jail.
“We have been doing it this way for the last 10 years,” Devlin said last week at a meeting of the county’s Budget Committee. “We make it work.”
The state’s spending plan is often decided after the county budget is determined, but this year, state lawmakers failed to extend the legal deadline for adjournment to complete work on a number of bills, including state funding for public schools and jails.
While the lawmakers will return to the statehouse Wednesday, it’s unclear what business will be conducted other than casting votes to override vetoes issued by Gov. Paul LePage.
County government is the structure under which the registrars of Deeds and Probate operate, as well as the county Emergency Management Agency, county law enforcement and the county jail.
In addition to what’s raised and appropriated from county taxpayers, county operations like Deeds, Probate and the District Attorney’s Office generate fees that total more than $1.5 million in revenue. The county is also allocated $150,000 from its undesignated fund balance to lower the amount raised by taxation.
The proposed county budget includes increases to payroll for both union and non-union employees, funding in anticipation of state-driven changes to the probate system starting in 2019, and support to move county equipment to a different radio tower on Libby Hill in Gardiner.
Of all the communities in the county, only Waterville will see a decrease in its share of the county assessment. All other communities will have an increase, ranging from 2.6 percent in Readfield and Mount Vernon to 8.1 percent in Benton.
The Budget Committee opted to fund the jails at 3 percent rather than 4 percent of the legislatively imposed cap. The public will have a chance speak on the budget at a public hearing scheduled for 5:30 p.m., May 29 at Waterville City Hall and at 5 p.m., May 31 at the conference room in Hill House, the county government building. Following that hearing, the Budget Committee is expected to make its final vote on the budget.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
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