PARIS — The Oxford County commissioners signed off on the 2010 budget Tuesday, approving an increase suggested by the Budget Committee.

Under the budget requested by county departments, expenditures were projected to be $5,894,851, with an additional $1,228,757 capped fund for the operation of the Oxford County Jail. Department heads also predicted a total revenue of $2,225,367, with the remaining funds to be raised by taxation.

The commissioners asked in October that the predicted expenditures be lowered to $5,646,019 plus the jail budget, with expected revenues of $2,184,288. The Budget Committee, consisting of selectmen from Oxford County towns, recommended that expenditures be increased to $5,654,165 plus the jail budget and revenues to $2,185,361.

The Budget Committee’s largest change was restoring $5,000 cut by commissioners from the Oxford County Extension Association’s proposed $106,892.26 budget. The district attorney’s budget was increased by $1,000, about half of the funds cut from a repairs and maintenance item.

The committee also increased the Emergency Management Association’s budget by $1,987 after commissioners recommended reducing the department’s $317,737 request to $312,209. Scott Parker, director of the EMA, had requested those funds for staff overtime due to the frequent need of an office manager and EMA assistant to work beyond their normal hours. The Budget Committee’s only change to revenues was also related to the EMA, projecting matching funds of $77,189 rather than the $76,116 suggested by commissioners.

Commissioners agreed to enact the budget with the stipulation that they address the question of overtime funds for the EMA. With the jail budget, expenditures total $6,882,922 while revenues total $2,185,361. The remaining $4,697,561 will be raised by taxation, an increase of 4.29 percent from last year’s amount. The 2009 budget represented an 8.7 percent increase in taxes over the previous year.

The budget retains several reductions recommended by the commissioners. A request from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office for $120,000 to purchase five to seven new vehicles was reduced to $96,000, fuel expenses for the county courthouse were reduced from $50,000 to $40,000, and an addition to a capital reserve fund for the Oxford County Regional Airport was halved from $50,000 to $25,000.

In addition, the commissioners had recommended that no funds be allocated to the Western Maine Economic Development Council, which requested $115,000 for operational costs. The board had also cut $10,000 requested by the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District for the maintenance of two dams on Colton and McDonough brooks in Stow.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved a budget for unorganized townships for July 2010 through June 2011. This budget projects $763,718 in expenditures and $268,891 in revenues. The last budget for the territories had $755,878 appropriated for expenditures and $275,353 estimated for revenues.

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