Vermilion County ended the fiscal year with over $24-million dollars in its General Fund. But Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Hawker says a year from now the new fiscal year will look much different….
{AUDIO: “It’s looking like it’ll be just a little over $12-million dollars next year at the end in our General Fund. That does not include any amendment that is made after today. Today we made an $880-thousand dollar amendment to the budget to tear down the annex. We done some others. So I’m cautioning the Board – we’ve just got to hold tight on budget amendments.”}
Hawker noted the current balance is so high because of federal ARPA (Covid relief) funds. But he notes most of those funds are already earmarked for projects – including improvements to the Joseph G. Cannon Building, Rita B. Garman Vermilion County Courthouse, and the County Health and Education Building.
Hawker says board members will need to get used to having lower revenue coming in…
{AUDIO: “We’ve got to watch our spending. – I’m not saying we’re broke, but we want to keep a good balance there in revenues. Because we don’t have the ARPA money coming in (which) is where we were able to have $24-million dollars by the end of the year versus what we project next year, which is about 11-million.”}
County Board members also allotted $100-thousand dollars in Motor Fuel Tax Funds to supplement state funds for safety improvements along a segment of Perrysville Road. The work will include the addition of three foot paved shoulders with rumble strips, updated pavement marking and curve signing from Brewer and Rileysburg Roads to the Indiana state line.
And the County Board also voted to abate over $543-thousand, 400 from the annual tax levy for the earlier jail expansion and Juvenile Detention Center projects. The County is able to abate the money from the annual tax levy because of revenue received from the quarter percent public safety tax.
