The 2016 Cole County budget of $72 million was approved Thursday by the County Commission, but one elected official said he was disappointed more money wasn't given for employee salaries, particularly in his department.
This year's budget is a 6 percent increase from the 2015 county budget of $68 million.
The 2016 budget includes a 2 percent COLA increase and a 2 percent merit pool, which is a reserve account to give merit raises in each county department.
The commission agreed to continue covering all health insurance premiums of county employees and continue funding the 4 percent contribution for the county retirement program.
Last month, the commission rejected a $175,000 addition of four new employees for the Sheriff's Department - three jailers in the county jail and one detective in the patrol division.
The department also presented a plan with 1-3 percent pay increases rewarding 103 employees for years of experience before coming to the department, including military service and attaining higher education. One year of those raises would have cost $153,413.
"Last year, we lost 11 part-time and six full-time employees and we lost two full-time employees this year, all due to salary issues," said Sheriff Greg White. "I hope next year you start much sooner looking at the possibility of increasing salaries. Countywide, we are losing good people to other places because, while they say they like working here, there are other higher-paying jobs they can go to."
Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman made a motion to approve the sheriff's request last month, but it died from the lack of a second from Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher or Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle.
"It was not an arbitrary decision," Hoelscher told White at Thursday's meeting. "I don't want it to be said that I'm against law enforcement because there is nothing further from the truth. I would love to see everyone get paid what they're worth."
As part of the budget meeting, the commission also signed three memorandums of understanding (MOU) in an effort to give offices with special revenue funds the ability to hire more people.
One of those offices was the Sheriff's Department, which will take money from its revolving fund and use it to pay for two full-time employees for processing concealed carry permits. This would cost $63,329.
Another MOU was signed with the Record of Deeds office to pay for one part-time employee to help record documents and help when members of the full-time staff are on vacation. The money would come out of the recorder's fund and would cost $14.61 an hour, up to 1,000 hours and not to exceed $15,000.
The final MOU is with the Prosecuting Attorney's office for a full-time assistant prosecutor and a part-time investigator. The $91,680 for these two positions would be paid out of the prosecutor's delinquent tax fund and administrative handling cost fund.
In all three cases, if money from these funds would no longer be available or if a position in these offices becomes vacant or is no longer needed, the agreement with the commission becomes null and void, and a renegotiation of this arrangement would be required.
It was pointed out no supplemental fund money was paying these MOUs. These funds were created by the Legislature with statutory authority for some county officeholders to spend as they see fit within expenditure guidelines set out in the statutes.
The commission did not do MOUs last year, saying it ended up helping to pay for particular employees' salaries up and above what the county was paying for them.
At that time, commissioners said the supplemental funds had become ways to give raises and led to hurt feelings among others in county offices where no such funds are available.
Looking at the rest of the budget:
• In 2016, the budget for capital improvement sales tax projects has $2.4 million for Swift Road/Boise Brule Road upgrades and, like last year, $1 million for resurfacing. There's also $425,000 to go to communities in the county for various projects as well as $515,000 for a neighborhood improvement project in Parkview Meadows.
• The ambulance budget includes more than $606,000 in capital improvement requests, with $220,000 for remounting two ambulances and $132,000 to pay for mounts for cots in ambulances.
• Commissioners said at best, financial growth will be "modest" in 2016 with no increase in sales tax revenue. The general revenue fund, which relies on sources other than sales tax - the county's major source of revenue - will be more stable.