The Courier of Montgomery County reports that Montgomery County Commissioners are working to get things underway on a $419 million preliminary budget for 2024 in the wake of rising inflation and medical costs.
The County’s 2023 budget was $397.7 million. They are now taking an initial look at a budget which is around six percent more.
The biggest budget increase, according to Budget Officer Amanda Carter, is for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office which rises to $7 million over the current budget. A $9 million to $11 million increase is being looked at for the commissioner budgets.
According to Ms. Carter, a 2.5 percent cost of living raise for employees is included in the budget. She said, “Overall, inflation is still a factor for employees.”
Ms. Carter also passed along that the county will need to come up with additional funding for their medical plan. To cover the plan, they need between $51 to $53 million. She said the county has contributed $47 million to it.
Precinct #3 Commissioner James Noack said the covering of the shortfall needs to be derived from the tax rate, as he didn’t want to draw from the county fund balance.
Across the county, Ms. Carter said that 88 new positions were under request, the majority from the sheriff’s office. She said capital improvement requests of more than $5 million were also made.
On August 8th, the commissioner’s court’s budget workshops get underway. They will continue through August 11th.
