Warren County:

County officials say increase needed to cover extra pay period.

The county will operate on a 2016 general fund budget that tops $70 million for the first time,

— Warren County LEBANON will operate on a $71 million general fund budget in 2016, topping $70 million for the first time.

The budget, approved this week, is just over 3.8 percent — or $2.6 million — more than this year and about 0.8 percent above the ceiling set by the Board of Commissioners.

County officials said much of the increase was needed to cover a 27th pay period — expected to be a $2.3 million payroll expense.

“Most of our increase is the result of an accounting snafu,” Commissioner Dave Young said before the board voted unanimously to approve the budget.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office budgeted $17.8 million for road patrol, jail and outside staffing expenses — about $700,000 more than in 2015.

Sheriff Larry Sims said the figures are in line with a 3 percent cap on budget increases set by the commissioners.

“Those are the numbers given to us by the County Commissioners,” he said via email. “The outside staffing is a deputy sheriff assigned to our South Lebanon post that the

county funds.”

Also Tuesday, the commissioners approved pay increases for directors and other staff.

Deputy Administrator Tiffany Zindel said the budget included $238,910 in new funding for the county court probation department.

Zindel congratulated the courts and other county departments for keeping their budgets at or near the 2015 totals. Although the overall budget is set by the commissioners, the judges in the various courts have the authority to set their budgets.

“They could really hold your feet to the fire. They don’t,” Zindel said before the commissioners approved the budget, the product of more than a month of work sessions with departments.

In 2014-2015, the county opened a new $6.4 million building for the board of elections and other county departments, paid for with cash. The county also funded million-dollar improvements at other county buildings and Armco Park.

The county is projecting over $67.6 million in revenue next year, about $3 million more than was projected in 2015.

“We’re going to end up roughly where we started,” Zindel said.

Through Nov. 30, the county government had already taken in $69.1 million, according to county spreadsheets.

More big projects are on tap for next year, including expansion of other buildings on the county-government campus in Lebanon.

In 2016, the county also plans to advance the county airport board more than $1.5 million to pay for repairs of the airport in anticipation of reimbursement from the Federal Aviation Administration.