Preliminary budget presented to Cape Girardeau County Commission

This story has been updated to reflect correct status of approval.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission heard a preliminary 2019 budget Monday showing slightly fewer expenses and projecting slight growth in revenue.

County Auditor Pete Frazier spoke at Monday�s regular county commission meeting in Jackson, and said the budget presented Monday would carry the county�s government operations over into early January, when the final budget is due. This gives the county time to record all actual expenses and revenue through the end of 2018, Frazier said.

The estimated balance on the books at year�s end will be $2.1 million, Frazier said, and estimated income will be nearly $12 million total.

Projected revenue from sales tax is $7.5 million, Frazier said, and that�s close to 2018�s sales tax figures.

After the meeting, Frazier said the overall sales tax revenue is expected to increase by 1.9 percent, which is consistent with previous years� trends.

Revenue from other sources will be approximately $4.5 million.

Together, those figures give the amount available for appropriation, or budgeted for county services and expenditures, Frazier said: about $14 million.

Those appropriation requests are down by about $400,000 over 2018�s requests, Frazier said, totaling about $12.5 million for 2019.

About $200,000 of that is accounted for by the election line item. After the meeting, Frazier said every two years, the county is reimbursed for a portion of that expense through the subdivisions that hold the elections, and this year, the county will receive that payment.

Frazier said one entity being de-funded is the county�s drug court, which had formerly received $4,000 per year.

Frazier said the drug court has a client services fund, which funds the majority of activity already.

�There will not be a reduction of services� or number of clients, Frazier said.

The preliminary budget with estimated totals will need to be approved prior to Jan. 1, Frazier said, and the final budget with actual totals is due Jan. 10.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630