The Kennebec County budget committee is expected to vote on the county’s proposed spending plan following the second and final public hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Augusta.

The budget committee, made up of town officials from across the county, are proposing a spending increase of 8.1%. County taxpayers would be asked to contribute about 9% more than last year.

Here’s what you need to know about those increases.

TWO MORE DEPUTIES

The approved budget includes a $994,000 increase to the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Departments — a jump of almost 20% for the county’s second-largest department.

The jump is driven primarily by $5 per hour raises for most staff and the addition of two more sheriff’s deputies, bringing the total number of deputies to 20 — although three are placed in schools as resource officers for most of the year, and the districts pay the county for those deputies.

Currently, the department is slated to have 15 patrol deputies, but a recent staff study showed a 17-deputy patrol staff would be more efficient, Chief Deputy Chris Read said in a Feb. 25 budget committee meeting.

The county will need to purchase two new fully outfitted police cruisers for the deputies, costing the county $129,284.

OVERTIME

The two new sheriff’s deputies are intended, in the longer term, to help curb ballooning overtime costs, Sheriff Ken Mason said. This year, the department’s overtime budget — a historically over-spent line — is slated to increase by $125,000.

“But again, with the overtime, it’s an animal that is hard to control,” Mason said in the Feb. 25 meeting. “We need so many deputies on the street for their safety and the citizens’ safety.”

Overtime in the jail, on the other hand, will stay level this year at $865,000. Kennebec County Correctional Facility Capt. Bryan Slaney said that is mostly down to having a full 54-member correctional officer staff for the first time in years.

“As things continue the way that they are, I’m cautiously optimistic that we can start to see a decrease in (fiscal year 2028),” Slaney said.

Jail overtime remains one of the largest single lines in the budget. Historically, the jail has been understaffed and has over-spent on overtime, straining the county’s budget and placing more burden on correctional officers.

TAX IMPACTS

The 8% increase in spending would translate to an average 9.3% increase on the funds paid by local property taxpayers. In the budget approved last spring, the county required about $20.7 million in property taxes; this year’s will require about $22.7 million.

Total county spending is anticipated to be $27.6 million, with revenue coming from other sources such as fees collected by the registries of Deeds and Probate, interest earnings and state jail funding.

Because of the way Maine calculates a community’s property values year to year, some municipalities in Kennebec County will feel the increase more than others. For instance, state valuators determined Clinton’s property values increased by about 20%, so Clinton will assume a larger portion of the county budget this year, with about an 18% increase in local taxpayer contributions. Benton, Randolph, Vienna, Waterville and West Gardiner are in a similar boat, with increases between 15%-18%.

The county budget makes up, on average, less than a quarter of a resident’s property tax bill.

The county budget committee plan to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 125 State St. in Augusta to present and answer questions about the budget.

Following the budget committee vote, the spending plan heads to the county’s three commissioners for their endorsement.