County budget approved for 2018-19

WORLAND – Washakie County Commissioners approved the projected county budget and revenues for 2018-19 at their last July meeting, and reported on revenues for 2017-18.

According to records provided by the Office of County Clerk, the county had a general account balance of $1,654,850 for 20170-18, and budgeted $1,701,200 for 2018-19, an increase of 2.80 percent.

The county is reporting an anticipated general fund balance of $8,404,196 for 2018-19.

The county collected total revenues for 2017-18 in the amount of $6,724,058.09, with a projected revenue for 2018-19 of $4,724,166.

Revenue collected in 2017-18 include county sales tax of $480,000, motor vehicle fees of $250,000, court recording fees of $90,000 and fire prevention grants in the amount of $286,568.

Approved budget request per department include the county commission at $86,431, up from $81,600 in 2017.

The county clerk’s office requested $193,436, down from $201,144 in 2017.

The county treasurer department requested $130,049, down 1.37 percent from the 2017 request for $135,015.

The county assessor’s office requested $185,912, versus the 2017 request for $192,137.

The sheriff’s department requested $56,386, a 5.38 percent difference over the final 2017-18 budget of $533,695.

The office of the county attorney requested $202,228, down from a 2017-18 request of $203,972.

The detention department requested $724,122, up from the 2017-18 request of $685,357.

The county coroner’s office requested $52,750, down from $53,250.

The agriculture department (4-H) requested $95,815, up slightly from the 2017-18 budget of $95,330.

The district court budget dropped with a request for $160,805, from a 2017 budget of 163,945.

The county maintenance budget grew 25.13 percent upon approval for a $1,230,850 budget for 2018-19, after only receiving $983,640 in 2017.

The road and bridge budget dropped to $416,717, after receiving $447,453 in 2017.

The county road budget remained the same for repairs and culverts at $623,500.

The ambulance budget was down for 2018-19 with a request of $22,750, from 2017’s budget of $23,130.

Due to an election year, the Election Board budget was up 172.78 percent from $19,136 to $52,200 for 2018-19.

The health department requested $248,831, up from 2017’s request of $243,659.

The county planner’s office requested $81,540, up from $77,661, mainly due to requests for new equipment.

The Office of Homeland Security requested a smaller budget of $95,326, from $104,599, due to changes in insurance rates.

Building maintenance for the county dropped to $283,240, from $317,487, previously.

County dispatch requested $459,008, up 14.14 percent from the 2017 request for $402,154, due to an increase in contract wages for dispatchers.

In May, the Washakie County voted to maintain current salaries for elected county officials, citing overall state budget woes as a reason to not consider raises for the next budget cycle.

The current budget does account for slight raises to county employees.