The Starke County Council has set a timeline for adoption of the county’s 2017 budget. They’ve scheduled budget workshops on Aug. 22 at 8 a.m. The public hearing on the proposed budget will take place at their Sept. 19 meeting, with adoption on Oct. 17.
Before that process begins, Councilman Dave Pearman wants to keep everyone’s expectations in check.
“We really need to tell everybody that they need to try and cut their budget as much as they can, and we probably need to cut somewhere between $100 and $200,000,” he said Monday.
Auditor Kay Chaffins says budgets have already been turned in. Last year the council reviewed each budget and called individual department heads in to discuss potential cuts. Chaffins says that process worked well.
Pearman also cautioned his fellow council members to differentiate between wants and needs when looking at budgets. Meanwhile, Chaffins is meeting next week with officials from the state Department of Local Government Finance. She says the county will get money back from certified shares this year, but it has already been allocated.
