No tax hikes listed in the 2023 county budget

Franklin County property owners won’t see an increase on the county’s portion of their tax bills next year, after the county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $2 billion budget for 2023.

The newly approved spending plan includes the following:

● $13 million to carry forward the county’s RISE initiative, which provides early learning scholarships, incentive pay for child care programs and rental assistance for child care workers who have been underpaid.

● $3 million to continue the county’s Tech Women of Color initiative, which provides 15 weeks of “technical skills training, executive mentoring, financial coaching” to 200 women of color through August 2024.

● $1.7 million to Franklin County Public Health for the agency’s Community Health Improvement Plan.

● $1 million for two more mobile offices for various county agencies to provide services through events throughout the community, not just at county offices.

The budget also includes funding for a new Rapid Resource Center at the county’s new jail and more money for Children Services; Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board; Office on Aging; Board of Developmental Disabilities; and Veterans Services Commission.

The “rainy day” fund also includes nearly $82 million, as officials set aside money for the next decade, once federal COVID-19 relief runs out, County Administrator Kenneth Wilson said previously.

In a statement after Tuesday’s vote, Board of Commissioners President Erica Crawley called the budget “the best possible example of the board’s values to support and reflect our community’s priorities.”

“Everything we do as county commissioners is centered around helping and ensuring all of our neighbors in Franklin County have the same opportunities to thrive, not just survive,” Crawley said.

General fund spending amounts to nearly $600 million, and the all-funds budget allows for spending more than $2 billion, according to the county. This amounts to a 2.5% increase in general fund expenses and a 2.4% increase in general fund revenues from 2022.

The board held three days of budget hearings in November, hearing from officials in each of the 14 county agencies the board oversees. nshuda@dispatch.com @Nathanielshuda