From the Columbus Republic:
Bartholomew County Council cut more than $2.2 million from the county’s proposed 2013 budget, bringing the total budget to $21.7 million.
The proposed budget is still 2.8 percent higher than the 2012 budget.
During their Thursday night meeting, council members agreed to budget only $150,000 for emergency ambulance service next year, in the hopes that Columbus would pay the rest. During negotiations for the city/county ambulance contract, county officials had said they were willing to pay the entire $300,000 subsidy requested by Columbus Regional Hospital.
However, County Council members agreed if Columbus City Council does not appropriate a similar amount, the county would be willing to pay the entire $300,000 subsidy. If those funds are needed, they would be taken from the county’s $4.8 million Rainy Day Fund.
The appropriation would be a one-time expense for 2013 under a flexible plan approved last week by the Columbus Board of Works and Public Safety.
County Council is working on a plan to provide all county employees with a 2.5 percent raise next year. However, that might change after assessed property values are provided to council members sometime during the first two weeks of September.
http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/County-budget-gets-a-2-2-milli_1345785370
