County Commissioners Court Briefs
County Commissioners approved a $20.4 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year that includes a 5-percent pay raise for all County employees as well as funding for special projects such as digitizing the County Clerk’s archive, matching funds for a mobile mental health team and upgrades to the County arena and the 91-year-old Young County Courthouse. The budget is $1.2 million higher than the current fiscal year’s $19.2 million budget, funded by a small increase in the property tax rate, 0.587674 per $100 valuation, versus the current year’s 0.587609 per $100 valuation.
The salary increase brings the top salary for County elected officials to $53,548 plus a $14,400 vehicle allowance for Commissioners.
The County figured on getting $525,000 in revenue from Senate Bill 22, which raises salaries for county law enforcement officers. The legislation lifted the salaries of Sheriff Travis Babcock and County Attorney Chris Baran to $75,000 and $93,308, respectively, the budget showed. District Attorney Dee Peavy, whose department is funded by Young and Stephens counties, saw her budget rise to $203,983 in fiscal year 2024 from $131,547 last year, the budget showed.
Interestingly, the County’s budget of $100,000 for autopsies remained unchanged in fiscal year 2024.
The new budget also includes longevity pay for employees on the job for more than five years. The County plans to spend $134,500 on the Young County Arena this year, compared with $50,000 last year.
The budget shows miscellaneous expenses for the district court doubled to $50,000. Building repair and maintenance rose from $35,000 to $335,000 as the County builds out the Courthouse Annex in Graham Town Square. Courthouse maintenance costs also more than doubled from $265,034 to $539,888, as the county replaced old wiring, HVAC, computer fiber, and other systems.
The Sheriff ’s Office expects to purchase $500,000 worth of vehicles and other equipment, and food service for inmates at the Young County Jail jumped up by $30,000 to $145,000 over the last year, the budget showed. Sheriff Babcock anticipates building repair and maintenance spending of $80,000 in fiscal year 2024, from $45,000 this year.
The cost of the jail physician rose to $290,000 from $238,000 last year. The budget for placement in juvenile probation increased to $205,000 from $160,000 last year.
Fort Belknap’s building and maintenance budget rose from $5,000 to $15,000, and drug court costs dropped from $8,500 this year to a proposed $4,500 in the fiscal year 2024 budget.
Precinct 3, which includes the City of Olney, will get an additional $50,000 in equipment in fiscal year 2024 over last year.
Rising interest rates will help the County earn three times as much revenue from fixed-income assets as last year, the budget showed.