County Board Committee Working to Finalize Budget, Levy for New Fiscal Year

The Effingham County Board Tax and Finance Committee Thursday worked to bring the county budget and levy process to a close.

Committee members set amounts for the Veterans Assistance Commission, Extension, the 708 and 377 Boards, the Health Department, and Social Security. The Health Department would be receiving a 58% increase in funding. Health Department Administrator Jeff Workman said earlier this week that the majority of the increase would go for salary increases. Board member Sandi Rich said she'd like more details on such a sizable increase and how it would be used.

The committee also discussed a project proposed by Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns to address the opioid crisis. The sheriff's proposal is to allocate funds that could be used to address the substance abuse needs of inmates. Those needs could be addressed in concert with various treatment organizations. What was termed a "warm handoff" would involve the various organizations. The proposal is to earmark $50,000 in each of the next two years to implement the program. A public hearing is scheduled later this month to seek public input on the opioid crisis and how it should be addressed.

There was also discussion on the airport runway and taxiway extension project, the replacement of the gazebo replacement project downtown, the childcare research committee gap scholarship, the annual contribution to the Effingham County Regional Growth Alliance, and the invoice on the county office building window replacement project.

The levy and the budget is expected to be a part of the agenda for the full County Board meeting on Monday afternoon.