PARIS – Oxford County commissioners enacted a budget for 2009 Tuesday that marks an 8.7 percent increase over this year.

Commissioners Caldwell Jackson and Steve Merrill approved the budget, which calls for $4,504,267 to be raised by taxes. Commissioner David Duguay was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

The budget projects $5,155,398 in expenditures, along with a $1,228,757 cap to be raised for the Oxford County Jail under the state’s new jail plan. The budget also projects $1,879,888 in revenue.

Commissioners have said the increase in the budget is due to several factors, including a calendar structure that gives personnel a 53rd paycheck; increased fuel costs as a result of locking into prices during the summer highs; repairs to the Oxford County Regional Airport, which the county is bound by lease to maintain; and the sheriff’s salary coming entirely out of the Sheriff’s Office budget under the new jail plan, where it was once split with the jail budget.

The decision was preceded by a meeting between the commissioners and the heads of several county departments to determine if any further cuts could be made. Jane Rich, the register of deeds for the Paris office, said her department was falling short on revenue, but also saw reduced expenses this year.

“My department’s about as bare bones as it can be,” Rich said.

Sheriff Wayne Gallant said he would not be able to cut back on patrol coverage in the county. He also said he was unsure if the money for the jail promised by the state would materialize, which could prompt cutbacks at the jail and more boarding of prisoners to other jails.

Scott Parker, director of the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency, said he may be able to hire someone for his office if he can secure grant money. Gallant suggested that the county look into hiring a grant writer, and Merrill said such a person would need to both write and administer the grants.

Capt. Ernest Martin, administrator at the Oxford County Jail, said the jail is in need of renovations in its kitchen and showers, but has also been saving money on its prescription drug program.

James Miclon, director of the Oxford County Regional Communications Center, said his department has saved on paper costs by no longer printing out radio logs.

Departments initially projected $5,241,878 in expenditures and $1,856,788 in revenues. In October, commissioners projected an additional $3,200 in revenues and recommended $39,700 in cuts to four departments, mostly to the Sheriff’s Office as a result of an agreement to purchase three cruisers instead of four in the coming year.

In November, the nine-member Budget Committee projected a further $46,780 decrease in expenditures due to insurance rate reductions. The committee also recommended exceeding the state’s LD 1 tax cap, which was set at 4.34 percent.

Last year, the budget approved for 2008 had $6,223,120 in expenditures, including support of the jail, as well as $2,079,351 in revenue, including $122,000 transferred from a surplus account. That budget marked a 5.03 percent increase from the previous year.