County Board approves fiscal year budget

With little fanfare, members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved the county’s 2013 fiscal year budget.

The $28.8 million budget goes into effect Jan. 1. It is more than $780,000 less than the 2012 fiscal-year budget, thanks in part to a lower-than-expected allocation sought by the St. Joseph County Road Commission.

According to a breakdown of the 2013 budget, about $15 million is going toward services. Of those services, 30 percent is dedicated to law enforcement while another 23 percent is earmarked toward judicial purposes.

General administration and statutory services account for the third and fourth most-funded areas.

Board Chairman Rick Shaffer said approval of the budget marks the conclusion of a number of workshops and sessions dedicated to creating the new budget. He thanked fellow commissioners, department heads and county administrator Judy West-Wing for their collective contributions toward creation of the budget.