The Callaway County Commission will take a vote on the county's 2015 budget at a public meeting 10:30 a.m. Monday after making any last-minute adjustments, if necessary.
Anticipated revenues for 2015 are more than $15 million, according to the proposed budget, with total anticipated expenditures at $7,728,702 - a figure $68,859 shy of the total appropriations in the 2014 budget at $7,797,561.
The sheriff's office and prosecuting attorney's office will reap benefits from the budget, if it receives the OK Monday.
Sheriff Dennis Crane will add two more officers to his squad, increasing his staff of deputies and investigators to 22 - not including the sheriff's position or clerical staff, according to Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann. He said a steady increase in county crime over the years warrants the demand for better public safety in the form of more officers.
"...There's a need. There's just a need for it," Jungermann said. "We're working the officers we have now pretty hard ... The taxpayers need this."
Jungermann said hiring more officers is somewhat uncommon because new positions have long-term financial effects as they will need to be accounted for in future budgets.
"I don't want to hire and find out a year later we can't afford to have them," Jungermann said.
Personnel could also increase in Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson's office. Commissioners budgeted for another assistant prosecuting attorney to join his team. Jungermann again credited more crime, especially felonies, as to why another assistant prosecuting attorney is necessary.
Wilson previously told the Fulton Sun that in 2002 the prosecuting attorney's office handled more than 400 felony cases. Wilson supervised more than 600 felony charges in 2013 and said in July that he anticipated about 650-700 by the end of 2014.
"Clearly that's not going down," Wilson said at the time.
Wilson was unable to be reached for updated figures, but Jungermann described the 2014 case-load rate as "astronomical."
The prosecuting attorney's case load has risen in part to more arrests of domestic violence offenders.
"The domestic violence numbers - as far as a conviction rate - has gotten way better than it was 6-8 years ago," Jungermann said.
Four years ago, Jungermann said, Callaway County was awarded a grant that supplied an hourly wage for a domestic violence officer in the sheriff's office. Matthew Palmer was hired for the spot, and the county has maintained the grant and Palmer since.
Ultimately, Jungermann said adding an assistant prosecuting attorney - totaling that to three for Wilson - will take a load off each and they will be able to perform better for victims.
County employees may see a pay bump if the budget goes through. Jungermann said the commission has included a one percent cost-of-living raise for all employees and two percent raise based on merit. Elected officials and supervisors will determine if their employees will receive the two percent raise. The general revenue fund has supplemented the road and bridge fund by $400,000 or more in the past, but that won't be necessary in 2015, and that money allowed for increased wages, Jungermann said.
The commission may also have to address county jail issues in 2015. The indoor sprinkler system is in need of repair, and jail overcrowding has caused the commission and county leaders to discuss the possibility of an addition.
There are 109 total beds at the jail, and inmate population routinely nears or exceeds the 100-person mark. According to figures from jail administration, the average number of inmates has increased over the past four years: 66.34 in 2010; 78.39 in 2011; 86.52 in 2012; 87.17 in 2013 and 100.42 from January 2014 to Nov. 12. The sheriff's office continues to arrest more females, which has contributed to the problem. Females and males must be kept separately at the facility. The average number of females incarcerated from January 2014 to Nov. 12 was 15.40 - 3.27 more than in 2010. In 2011, an average of 13.18 women were in the county jail; 15.99 in 2012 and 14.05 in 2013.
Jungermann said the commission has budgeted $250,000 for capital improvement expenditures, but any jail improvements - which he added come with a five or six figure number - will come out of the $8 million reserve fund.
The commission has allocated $150,000 for the contingency fund and $450,000 for the emergency fund. As a Class 1 county, Missouri statute mandates the commission to budget an emergency fund, which is three percent of the $15 million total of estimated revenue and reserve fund money.