From the Richmond Palladium-Item:
Wayne County officials are fine tuning a proposed budget for 2013 they hope will include a raise for county employees.
If it survives the county’s final cut, it would be the first raise in four years.
“We still have a ways to go with this budget, but we hope to give a modest raise to our employees,” said Wayne County Councilman Jeff Plasterer, who is head of council’s finance committee.
The proposed budget, which was released this week, is almost $24 million in the general, or tax, fund, up about 6 percent from the present year budget. Of that $23,878,432 proposed general fund budget, $14.9 million will come from property taxes. The proposed total budget is $37 million in all funds.
Plasterer cautioned that more cuts could be in store for the proposed budget.
“We’re pretty sure that these will not be the final numbers. There will be some more adjustments along the way,” he said.
Employee raises have become a priority for some on council, including Al Dillon.
“It’s time for them to have a raise. They’re good people,” Dillon said. “We want to give them a raise if we can afford it. If we can’t afford it, we’re not going to do it.”
Council members held their budget hearings in July and have continued to tweak the budget numbers. They will discuss the budget Wednesday when they hold their joint workshop with the county commissioners at 5:30 p.m. in the County Administration Building.
More discussion is expected at the finance committee meeting Sept. 5. The last day for the county to adopt the budget is Nov. 1.
The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance has until Feb. 15, 2013, to issue its final certificate of the budget, at which time final tax rates will be set.
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http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012308140016
