Cape Girardeau County Commission to hold budget hearing Monday

The Cape Girardeau County Commission will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. today to discuss the proposed 2011 budget.

The auditor's office said this year's county revenue budget totals $11,674,637.57, a slight increase from the 2010 budget of $11,381,878.86.

Among the items in the budget is a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase for county employees. The increase amounts to an additional $63,450 in salary expenses from last year. The commission does not set the salary for elected officials. That is determined by the county salary commission and state law.

This year's budget includes some large capital expenses. Replacing the roof at the county courthouse in Jackson is estimated to cost $50,000. During a commission meeting last week, Commissioner Paul Koeper said the county would like to advertise for bids for the roofing project soon. While $50,000 has been allotted for the project, if bids should exceed the amount, it is possible the county would postpone the replacement.

Another $27,000 has been designated for painting and caulking at the county's administrative building. Koeper said the 25-year-old building is starting to show its age and would benefit from the project. Again, he said, if bids come back too high, the county would re-evaluate the project.

Deputy Beth Biri with the auditor's office said the roofing and painting projects are the two large capital projects the office is aware of and the only ones that have been budgeted for 2011. Should any other large-scale capital expenditures arise, budget amendments can be made.

About $11.6 million of the budget is devoted to operational expenses, Biri said.

Since the preliminary budget was approved by commissioners last month, there have been some changes. Last week commissioners added line items for two county departments.

A $52,000 line item was added to the highway department budget to cover the repair cost for an excavator that was damaged in late 2010.

Highway administrator Scott Bechtold said the bill was received Dec. 28, which was too late for process and payment in 2010.

A $27,000 line item was also added to the parks department budget for repairs to the lake at Cape Girardeau County Park North. The repairs had been scheduled for 2010 but had to be delayed because of the damage to the excavator.

Commissioners approved the preliminary 2011 budget in December with a 2-1 margin. Commissioner Jay Purcell did not vote to approve it. In January 2010 Purcell also voted against accepting the 2010 budget.

The proposed budget for road and bridge is $2,833,113 and Prop 1 is $6,359,370. The assessor's budget, which includes state reimbursements for property assessments, is $1,009,672.

cbartholomew@semissourian.com

243-8600

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