Oconee County Units Request Nearly 20 Percent Increase In Fiscal Year 2014 Funding

Oconee County departments and governmental units have requested $24.1 million from the general fund for fiscal year 2014, up $3.9 million from the budget for the current fiscal year.

The 19.2 percent increase in funding was spelled out in budget hearings before the Board of Commissioners last week and will have to be reconciled with revenue projections for the county by the time the BOC approves the county’s budget by the end of June.

Included in the requests is a rate increase for water and sewer services and a  $1.3 million increase in the Sheriff's law enforcement budget.

Sheriff Scott Berry has said he needs five additional deputies because of increased commercial growth in the county, particularly on Epps Bridge Parkway.

For additional information on the budget requests, go to Oconee County Observations.

NOTE: The original version of this story incorrectly identified, both in the headline and in the story, the percentage of increase in general fund spending requested by the departments and other county units.

The fiscal year 2013 general fund budget is $20,251,910. The budget requests sum to $24,143,828, or $3,891,918 higher. That is an increase of 19.2 percent.

The error was a miscalculation, for which I apologize.