More than a few times I’ve joked that the first day of county budgeting hearings is my favorite day of the year. It’s a roughly six-hour meeting predominantly about budgeting and numbers — what’s not to love?
Nonetheless, there’s a lot to appreciate about the process.
For one, it’s often a line-by-line dissection of how taxpayer dollars are used. I did not particularly like math in school, but I do love the opportunity to learn more about how a particular department functions. It’s also a dedicated opportunity to check in with leaders who do a lot of work behind the scenes.
This year in particular I found myself quite curious to get my three-ring binder of budget proposals, graciously organized by Auditor Lisa McCormick for the council members and myself.
The year has undoubtedly held a lot of changes at the county level as staffing and funding have changed significantly within the Health Department, economic development has moved from the Wells County Chamber of Commerce to the county, and building projects have come to a close, among probably half a dozen other things. Each of those things will impact how the council uses taxpayer money and, in turn, will also affect the future of public services, infrastructure, and community development.
There’s also always more coming down the pipeline.
In the next year, the commissioners requested to add a new building inspector position and Building Department, the council wants to tackle more rural clean-up efforts, and the Highway Department hopes to incorporate a new software for road monitoring — all of which were items discussed in the first hour of the day Tuesday. More are detailed in Thursday’s News-Banner.
The budget season doesn’t always come with a salacious headline or big, contentious argument to slash a budget. In fact, there’s quite a bit less pressure this year as the county has $800,000 in excess from department proposals.
That said, it’s an important building block to the community we’re living in. Consider this my argument to tune in.
holly@news-banner.com
