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Last updated on Sunday, September 30, 2018
(BEDFORD) - After multiple meetings spread throughout the past month, the Lawrence County Council voted to approve a $24,187,921 budget for 2019 during a special council meeting on Thursday night.
Emily Ernsberger of the Times-Mail reports that the final budget was a decrease of about $600,000 from what was initially proposed. It is a $700,000 increase from the 2018 budget.
Among the biggest increases to the budget was a 2 percent salary raise for all county employees. The salary change accounted for an increase of about $130,000 over this year's budget. The largest addition, however, was the creation of the central dispatch agency. While some of its operations were funded through the sheriff's budget, the new department will cost the county more than $450,000.
Major cuts from the proposed budget primarily included proposed raises for elected officials and salaries for new positions. Lawrence County Clerk Billie Tumey, Assessor April Collins, Treasurer Paula Stewart, and Auditor Jody Edwards each asked for nearly a $7,000 raise, putting each of their salaries at $47,000. The women argued they are the lowest paid among county officials in Indiana counties with populations between 40,000 and 50,000, and the city of Bedford employees with comparable jobs make more money than they do. The council denied these salaries at the Sept. 6 meeting.
Salaries for some employees of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department also were decreased, as well as funding for medical hospital assistance to inmates, which dropped from $125,000 to $100,000.
Retirement funds for officers with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department decreased by about $40,000.
Nearly $20,000 was cut from the salary allotment for full-time public defenders at the Lawrence County Public Defender Agency. Job openings for an extra support staff person and an investigator at the office were denied.
Many departments -- including the treasurer's office, sheriff's department, assessor's office, election division, and the Lawrence Circuit Court -- cut small amounts from their postage, travel and educational training costs.
Information Times-Mail, https://www.hoosiertimes.com/tmnews/
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