County’s FY 2020 budget approved

Washington County commissioners on Monday approved a FY 2020 budget that totals $15.1 million in spending.
 A short public hearing on the county budget followed a hearing on the ambulance district budget. There were no members of the public at either hearing.
 Before signing off on the spending plan, the three county commissioners thanked department heads and supervisors for keeping expenses in check in the FY 2020 budget.
 According to budget figures, the county will have $5.1 million in carryover funds from FY 2019 and bring in another $4.6 million in revenue from various sources other than property taxes. The county will collect more than $5 million in property taxes to balance the FY 2020 budget.
 The general fund expenses rose from $2.97 million to $3.11 million, an increase of about $140,000. The general fund includes many county departments, including commissioners, assessor, clerk, building and grounds and other functions. Salaries dipped from $1.2 million in FY 2019 to $1.18 million, while benefits rose from $477,575 to $495,525.
 Salaries in the road and bridge department went up by $200,000 and totaled $886,325. The budgeted amount for road and bridge in FY 2020 is $2.83 million.
 The fund has $989,219 in carryover funds from FY 2019 and will get another $1.3 million in revenue from other sources than property taxes. The county also has a special bridge fund, a sort of capital account to set aside money for future bridge replacement. The fund in FY 2020 will contain $785,000.
 In other funds, commissioners bumped up the FY 2020 fair budget by $2,000 to $74,000. The county budgeted $58,560 for the Weiser and Midvale airports. The amount did not change from FY 2019 to FY 2020.
 The county will pay $62,513 as its share of the Southwest District Health Department budget for services. As it has in the past, the county will write a check for $14,000 to support the Snake River Historical Society in FY 2020.
 The justice fund is the largest in the county budget at $4.19 million for FY 2020, an increase over the FY 2020 budget of $4.06 million. The justice includes the Sheriff’s Office, county jail and prosecuting attorney.
 A breakdown of the justice fund shows $1.63 million in salaries and benefits for the sheriff’s department, which includes administration and patrol deputies. Another $892,624 million is earmarked for salaries for the jail.
 The budget allocates $286,583 for salaries in the prosecuting attorney’s office. In addition to salaries the justice fund has a miscellaneous line item of $1 million.
 The county’s social services department, which includes the indigent fund, will cost $622,565 in FY 2020.
 Commissioners budgeted $629,321 for the solid waste fund to cover the cost of transporting trash to Clay Peak Landfill in Payette County and the dump fees. The fund also pays for two transfer stations in the county, one in Weiser and one in Midvale.