MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners on Wednesday finished the year by approving a balanced general fund budget of $39,381,435 for 2022, roughly a 2.2 percent increase over what was budgeted for 2021.
The budget maintains the county’s carryover at about $7.8 million and also its “rainy day” budget stabilization fund at $1.8 million, commissioners said.
Commissioner Darrell Banks said the budgeting process, an annual effort that begins each fall, went well this year.
“Requests were close to what income we thought we would have,” said Banks, midway through his second term as commissioner.
“There were one or two people we had to spend a little time with, whittling down their requests. I would say it’s been a little easier each year we have been here,” he said.
2022 Richland County general fund budget approved Wednesday
Final 2021 revenue numbers are not available yet. Commissioners voted to divide any revenue above expectations between their capital expense fund (83 percent) and rainy day fund (17 percent).
“We want to carry at least two months of carryover for operating expenses,” Commissioner Tony Vero said. “We have more than enough in our carryover.
“We know we will go into the ‘red’ in our capital projects fund if we continue (forecast) work without adding additional funds,” Vero said.
As per usual, the lion’s share of the general fund budget (39 percent) went to law enforcement-related expenses. The 2022 budget appropriated $15.3 million to the sheriff’s department operation, including $1.28 million for 9-1-1 and $7.8 million for the county jail.
The budget for the jail includes $583,804 in 2022 for health care services with Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc., a company based in Tennessee that has had the contract for the last several years.
The contract reflects a 21 percent increase over what was budgeted for the work in 2021, but the new deal also provides a night nurse (LPN) at the county jail.
“When I pulled reports from last year, we had about 866 medical incident reports initiated by my staff,” said Capt. Chris Blunk, the jail administrator. “About 44 percent of those happened after hours on night shift, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.”
Blunk said without a medical staff member at the jail in the evenings, his supervisors have had to make medical decisions after hours or try to call a doctor for advice.
As part of the new contact, Advanced Correctional will provided a digital medical records service, eliminating the need for a medical records clerk at the jail, Vero said.
“Nothing is free obviously and we were concerned with the costs,” he said. “Advanced Correctional will include the night nurse and the emergency medical record (digital) program, which we believe will become mandatory anyway.”
The contract with Advanced is for one year with the option of an annual renewal for each of the next three years.
