The Cole County Commission on Tuesday got its first look at the county's proposed 2017 budget, which would grow by about 4 percent to $74.9 million.
Cole County Auditor Kristen Berhorst presented her proposed budget, which includes a 1 percent cost of living allowance (COLA) for employees with a merit pool that is 2 percent of total salaries. The pool is a reserve account to give merit raises in each county department. The 2016 budget included a 2 percent COLA increase and a 2 percent merit pool.
"We leaned more on merit money than COLA this year to try and give departments a little more power to where the money goes," Berhorst said.
She added the county will continue to pay for health and dental coverage for employees.
In August, the commission heard from department heads under their direct supervision about budget needs, and most of the discussions focused on personnel and salaries, with many saying it was getting harder to find qualified employees for the salaries they could offer.
Only one new position is proposed in the budget, which is a training officer in the Sheriff's Department. That's due to new laws requiring more training for department employees.
The commission has already approved the addition of eight other employees who are included in the 2017 budget.
In June the commission approved adding four additional employees for the Sheriff's Department after spiking a similar request last December. The department hired three jailers in the county jail and one detective in the patrol division.
In September, the commission also agreed to add more staff to the county ambulance service. After meeting with officials of Paramedics Plus LLC, the county's consultant on ambulance service enhancements, the commission agreed to add four dispatchers as the service changed how it handles incoming emergency calls.
As for the half-cent capital improvement sales tax, more than $1.1 million will go toward work on county facilities. In the courthouse, $125,000 is to be spent on repairing and painting walls, and $600,000 is for replacing the HVAC system at the courthouse annex.
The road projects to be done with sales tax money in 2017 include building a railroad spur at Algoa to serve businesses there for $200,000 and reconstruction of Capitol Avenue for $300,000. Both of these are cooperative projects to be done with Jefferson City. A street/stormwater replacement project is also being planned for the Crossroads Subdivision, which includes Dewberry Drive, Rustic Lane and Greenbrier Drive for $1.2 million.
Among the capital projects for various county departments, there is $240,000 for vehicles for the Sheriff's Department.
"We've seen over 5 percent growth in sales tax numbers in 2016," Berhorst said. "We've taken the approach that we're not going to rely on budget growth the next year so we're picking up that growth with a year lag. We'll pick up that 5 percent in the 2017 budget, we're just not projecting growth in the next year's budget. We're going to take it as it comes."
Budget discussions with department heads and elected officials are scheduled for Dec. 6. The commission is scheduled to have a public hearing and vote on the final budget Jan. 10.