The County Commission approved the final budget for 2019 on Jan. 7.
Auditor Pete Frazier said the final budget did not change much from the preliminary budget approved on Dec. 27.
The only difference from the preliminary budget was that the actual expenditures for December 2018 were lower than expected. Frazier said this resulted in more funds being carried over into 2019.
While the unencumbered balance in some of the funds increased, the budget requests and expected revenue remained the same.
The operating costs and sources of income remained relatively steady from last year, and Frazier projects a similar trend for 2019.
The budget includes $24.8 million of appropriations, $12.5 million of which are for the county’s general fund. The general fund covers most county offices including the sheriff, parks, collector, prosecuting attorney, elections and the County Commission.
The general fund’s appropriations are $411,000 less than last year’s, due to a reduction in requests.
According to the budget, the County would have an estimated income of just under $12 million for the general fund, $7.5 million of which will come from sales taxes.
The sales tax was estimated at a slight increase of 1.9 percent. The county will also start the year with $2.3 million in that fund.
Road and bridge spending is budgeted at $3.7 million. The county has a balance of under $2 million currently in the fund, with $3.1 million estimated income through Proposition 1 sales tax funds and other sources.
Assessment expenditures are budgeted at $1.1 million, with an estimated $985,000 assessment income in 2019.
