$6.8-million budget passed by Board of Commissioners Wednesday night
KALKASKA CO., MI -- Just in the nick of time.
Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners finalized a $6.8-million budget for 2012, 3 days before the 2011 budget expired.
Departments that were expecting major cuts breathed a sigh of relief as it passed.
It was crunch time for the Kalkaska County Board of Commissioners to finalize a budget for the fiscal year that begins January 1st. There wasn't much discussion at the meeting, and an hour in, the board decided to adopt the budget that has minor changes from the year before.
"There was a little bit of everything, but I think overall, it was good dialogue, it's part of the process, everybody worked together and we got it done, but it was a long, drawn out process," says commissioner Craig Wood.
For months, county departments didn't know what to expect, based on the board having an independent study done by an outside company that pointed out serious changes could be made to save big bucks. Two departments spoke out to us; the sheriff's office and the prosecutor's office. Their claim was additional cuts would be devastating. The sheriff feared the board would pull road patrols and reinstate them only if a millage was passed. Wednesday, both departments learned their funds would be on par with what they received this past year.
“I feel relieved, and I feel the citizens of Kalkaska are going to be safe, and I don't have to worry how I’m going to protect them," said Sheriff Dave Israel.
“Everything was on the table, but seriously cutting those areas, no I don't think we ever seriously thought about that," said Wood.
Changes to health care were another concern. The board discussed upping the ante for employees to pay 20 percent, but they backed off when employees came to leaders and said they wouldn’t be able to afford it. The county settled with capping health care, keeping insurance costs relatively the same.
“A lot of late nights, a lot of meetings, a lot of wrangling back and forth, and we came up with a balanced budget, and I don't think it hurt the employees, I don't think it cut any services, I think everything is pretty much budget neutral," says Wood.
And ready to be put in place just in time.
