The Valley County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing Tuesday on its proposed $23.7 million budget for the fiscal year 2008 that starts Oct. 1.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
The proposed budget is an increase of about $1.7 million over this year's budget that ends Sept. 30.

The county revenues include $5.3 million in property taxes, $6.2 million from its unencumbered fund balance -and $12.2 million n other revenues.

The largest expenditure in he budget is $8.6 million for the road and bridge department. The proposed budget is about $500,000 more than this year's budget.

The money for the road and bridge department comes from Craig-Wyden Funds and highway user funds.

The county roads and schools are funded through federal Craig-Wyden funds, which replace forest revenues as a means to land rural roads and schools throughout the west.

No property taxes are used by the road and bridge department.

The road and bridge department will decide what projects will work on in the next fiscal Tear in October.

The county has $8.7 million budgeted in its general fund for next year, which is an increase of about $500,000 over this year's budget.

The county has 131 full-time employees, 11 part-time employees and 28 seasonal employees.
The payroll for next year is budgeted at $6.8 million, which is about $150,000 more than this year's payroll. The budget includes a 3 percent pay raise for county employees.

The county's 911 communications has a budget increase of about $208,000 over this year. The county will keep $250,000 in contingency funds for the 911 system for possible upgrades to the system if the county receives a Homeland Security grant, Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen said.

If the county receives the grant, the 911 system will receive new phone equipment and a new routing system that will give 911 operators the location of the person calling into the system.

The Valley County Jail budget is increasing by about $78,000. The increase consists of wage increases and for the increased cost of everyday expenses, Bolen said.

Bolen also requested one more deputy for the county. If the county hires a new deputy, Bolen will have 17 deputies on staff. She originally requested two new deputies for the sheriff's office.

The budget also added $25,000 for pest control that was not in the budget this year.

The county's solid waste budget also rose by about $300,000 from $2.6 million to $2.9 million.

The county also cut its economic development budget by $145,000. The Idaho Department of Commerce cut out $41,500 in funding for the economic development office this year, which is a part of the total.

The county added about $6,000 to its snowmobile trail grooming funding for the coming year. The proposed budget cuts about $8,000 from indigent and charity funding.

The board of commissioners each makes $28,879 per year and receive the county's benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision and life insurance and the state's retirement plan.

The commissioners' budget increases by $19,100 in next year's budget.