Commissioners passed the general fund and non-general fund budgets Tuesday morning. The numbers are up due to inflation and service costs. The commissioners also put money towards the retention of current employees and the recruitment of new employees. The budget commission is estimating sales tax revenue will be up to allow for these increases. The budget process now shifts into another gear.

Allen County commissioners say that retention and recruitment of employees were at the top of the list and they will be working with department heads on wage increases for non-union general fund employees. Early this year they approved an equitable wage adjustment increase for the sheriff's department's union employees. Commissioners also say that utilities, fuel, and food costs have increased and they had to look at department requests as a want or a need.

Now that budget hearings have been held the Allen County Commissioners are crunching the numbers to come to a balanced budget.  They are still waiting for the estimated revenues from the budget commissioner before they can make any final decisions on the budget. Department heads have submitted their requests and now comes the hard part, making sure those requests and the increase in items, like health insurance, and utilities, don't exceed incoming revenue.

Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp was in Lima on Monday at the Allen County Regional Transit Authority. ACRTA officials gave Speaker Cupp, as well as his office representatives and a representative from Downtown Lima Incorporation, a tour of their facilities and the most recent upgrades implemented.

The Allen County Commissioners are getting ready to wrap up 2021 and get ready for a busy first part of 2022.  The commissioners are holding their final few meetings of the year this week.   Beth Seibert, Cory Noonan, and Brian Winegardner now have a full year together under their belts, since Winegardner was appointed Commissioner in December of last year.  Seibert, who served as the board president, says the group came together as a team this past year and were able to discuss difficult things and learn from each other.  Now they are ready to hit the ground running in January, with some big topics on their plate.

Even with uncertainty surrounding schools, one thing is certain and that is school supplies will be needed. So it's a good thing tax free weekend has arrived.

The first weekend in August has been designated as a sales tax free weekend for certain items in Ohio. You can purchase clothing priced at $75 or less for each item, school supplies at $20 or less per item and school instructional material at $20 or less per item. And that goes for anyone shopping for these things, not just those students going back to school. You are able to get those items tax free shopping online as well. To see all information on the tax free weekend, you can find it on the state website.

Allen County Commissioners are preparing for what they fear will be a hard hit to the county’s general budget. That hit coming from the economic fallout due to COVID-19. Sales tax revenue makes up more than 60% of the general operating budget. Commissioners have made a 10% reduction in several non-salary line items to slow down spending to be ready.