Drug overdoses, security needs boost Trumbull budget by $900,000

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The Trumbull County commissioners approved a 2016 budget of $45.7 million, a $900,000 increase over the $44.8 million budget approved in 2015.

The biggest increase is for the sheriff’s office, whose 2016 total is $10.6 million, compared with its 2015 number of $9.9 million.

In addition to salary increases, the department is adding several deputies to provide security in county buildings.

One is the new Veterans Service Commission building on East Market Street. Another is the former Talmer Bank building on East Market that houses county records, the planning commission, building- inspection department and Child Support Enforcement Agency.

Additional security also has been requested at the courthouse, said Adrian Biviano, county auditor.

The budget for the county coroner’s office also has increased from $675,000 to $794,000 because of the extra workload brought on by the spike in overdose deaths last year.

“We don’t seem to be solving the problem,” county Commissioner Frank Fuda said of drug overdoses. “We have many more people working on it ... but it doesn’t seem to be stopping it.”

The Veterans Service Commission received an increase of about $91,000 to $1,469,000, Biviano said. The auditor’s office decreased its budget for 2016 – from $1.1 million to $900,000.

“Everyone else got basically what they got last year, and they will have to live within it,” Biviano said, adding that there is no way to know how much sales-tax revenue to expect in 2016.

The sales-tax collections for October and November 2015, however, were down by $78,900 from the previous year. October collections were $70,000 lower, and the November collections were $10,000 lower. Those were received in January and February this year, respectively.

Another reason for the $900,000 budget increase is a larger-than-normal carry-over of expenses from 2015 to 2016, Biviano noted.