| 118th Year, 36th Issue | Thursday, April 19, 2007 | Sparta, North Carolina |
The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners received budget requests totaling $16,256,108 for fiscal year 2007-2008, which begins July 1.
The requests, which were presented to the commission Monday night by County Manager Don Adams, were about 12.44 percent higher than this year's approved budget of $14,458,046.
Budget requests are the amount of money requested by the school system, elected officials, county departments and other interests to be funded by the commissioners. The numbers used for comparison are the current budget totals released by the county, as amended through the year.
Requests generally mark the first step in the budget process, followed by recommendations by the county manager. The manager's recommendations will be given to the commissioners on June 4, at which time those seeking to ‘plead their case' before the commissioners will have an opportunity to do so on June 5, 6 and 7. Budget hearings will begin on those dates at 5 p.m.
The largest request increases were received from the Alleghany Sheriff's Office and the school system. The sheriff has asked for $810,124 in this year's budget, up from $488,079 that was approved last year and $826,256 for the jail, up from $644,071 approved last year. In a breakdown of the request, the department requested four four-wheel-drive pickups with graphics ($107,876.60), additional software ($1,000) and professional cleaning of the building (quote not included). Also in the request was $25,000 to repair the former magistrate's office, which was under renovations for some time under previous Sheriff Mike Caudill, who had planned to utilize the space for a new dispatch center.
In dispatch, the Sheriff Edwards' requests totaled $106,315, including $3,500 for three chairs; $4,000 for a laptop computer, router and networking card; $8,815 for 10 new radios for deputies and maintenance; and $90,000 for a new dispatch console.
Under the jail budget, the sheriff asked for $5,000 for two security cameras in the lobby.
The sheriff also is requesting three new deputy positions and
reclassification for three deputies to higher positions; a 10 percent
salary increase for detention officers; and a 5 percent pay increase
for one employee in dispatch (name not listed).
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