FARMINGTON – A public hearing on a proposed $4.8 million county budget for 2008 is scheduled to be held Monday.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17, at Franklin County Superior Courthouse in the second-floor courtroom.

The county’s Budget Committee is recommending a budget of $4.84 million – $27,561 less than the county commissioners’ proposed $4.87 million.

Some of the difference is a reflection of lower insurance costs than anticipated, but received after commissioners set their budget.

The committee’s 2008 proposal is $177,230 more than the existing budget. The commission’s budget reflects a $206,791 increase.

The Budget Committee left in a new emergency dispatching position that would cost $23,421 that commissioners’ approved in a 2-1 vote in October, with commission Chairman Gary McGrane of Jay opposed.

The Budget Committee also left in a 3 percent increase for nonunion staff while commissioners voted unanimously in November to uphold a 2 percent increase, the same as what union workers would get without factoring in pay steps.

Commissioners will decide at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, at their office at the courthouse if they will accept the Budget Committee’s recommendation.

It would take a unanimous vote to overturn it and send it back to the committee.