MANSFIELD — More than two-thirds of Richland County’s $34.5 million general fund budget in 2020 will pay directly for “law and order” things, commissioners said Monday morning.
Commissioners made final decisions on the financial plan, including adding $1.5 million to its reinvestment fund for next year, a pool from which the county makes capital expenditures.
Included in the 2020 budget is:
— $13,965,005 for Richland County Sheriff’s Office, which includes $5.4 million for law enforcement, $7.3 million to operate the jail and $1.1 million for the 9-1-1 system.
— $4,697,084 for the Richland County Juvenile Court, including $2.9 million for the court’s operations and almost $1.8 million for the juvenile detention center.
— $2,085,283 for the Richland County Prosecutor’s office.
The actual budget percentage for “law and order” is closer to 75 to 80 percent, commissioners said, when Common Pleas Courts, Clerk of Courts and adult probation departments are factored in, as well has work done in other offices to support employees in those functions.
Among those departments, the county has budgeted $1,026,110 for the Clerk of Courts, $895,945 for the common pleas court general division, $750,583 for adult probation, $517,782 for domestic relations court, $500,340 for probate court and $286,620 for the court IT department.
The county also budgeted $2 million in attorney’s fees for indigent defendants, though it anticipates $1.2 million in reimbursement from the state for those costs.
Commissioners projected $33.3 million in revenue and expenses in their 2019 budget, though revenues climbed to $34.6 million and actual expenses were $32.2 million.
Commissioners project about $100,000 less in revenue for the county in 2020 than it received in 2019 and about $2.3 million more in expenses in 2020, a year which will have an additional pay period, totaling about $800,000.
These numbers don’t include the county’s $4.8 million budget carryover.
In other activity Monday, commissioners:
— approved the sheriff’s department effort to apply for a $342,096 grant to help pay for the county’s 9-1-1 software/hardware upgrade. The funds would come from a federal 9-1-1 grant, processed through the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Commissioners met with Sheriff Steve Sheldon, Maj. Joe Masi and Capt. Jim Sweat, who reported that 12 fire departments in Richland County had been awarded grants totaling about $600,000 to help cover costs of a proposed new Multi-Agency Radio Communications System digital radio system that would improve communication and cooperation among township fire departments and also increase reliability.
— heard a request from the sheriff’s department for an additional $30,000 in its vehicle budget for 2020. The department had requested enough funds to purchase seven new cruisers and the approved budget would allow for 4.5, Masi said. The additional money would allow for a fifth vehicle, he said. Commissioners took no action, but said they would meet with the sheriff’s office staff again in early January when numbers for the radio system upgrade are finalized.
