FARMINGTON — A Franklin County budget panel voted Wednesday to send a proposed $7.7 million budget for 2022-23 to county commissioners.

It reflects an increase of $681,685.60 over the existing budget.

The spending plan represents about $5.35 million for county government and $2.34 million for the jail. The figures do not factor in anticipated revenues or use of undesignated funds.

Prior to approving the combined budget, the Budget Advisory Committee voted to add $30,000 in additional gas money to the Sheriff’s Office budget. The line now stands at $130,000. Commissioners approved the increase Tuesday at Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr.’s request because of rising prices.

The package does include $191,130 for outside agency program grants. Of that amount, $163,400 was added by the budget panel at the request of a local consortium. Commissioners have not approved those requests.

County Administrator Amy Bernard said $325,000 will be needed from the undesignated fund balance to keep the county government budget under the tax cap.

She told commissioners Tuesday that another $75,000 from the fund balance will be needed to keep the jail budget under the tax cap. The county government budget has a separate tax cap than the the jail.

There is about $2.2 million in the undesignated fund as of last year, Bernard said.

Commissioners will take up the panel’s budget at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the upstairs courtroom of the county courthouse.

The commission will need to have a unanimous vote to make a change to an amount the Budget Advisory Committee has set. If a change is made, the budget will be sent back to the committee and a two-thirds vote, six out of nine members, is needed to override the commissioners’ change.

The budget committee set a tentative meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the courthouse in case it is needed.

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