County passes 2016 budget

St. Joseph County’s 2016 fiscal year budget was passed last week, but not without some concerns from a Florence Township resident.
The $16.5 million budget reflects a 2.3 percent decrease from the county’s 2015 adjusted amended budget.
Tim Carls criticized the board two weeks earlier during a public hearing on what was then the proposed budget. His concern centered on $100,000 to Sturgis Public Schools per a request from the St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation to help offset technology-related expenses.
Carls returned Tuesday and picked up where he left off Dec. 1. He suggested local roads be addressed before the county decides to make an allocation to public schools. Carls reminded commissioners that school districts rely on millage and tax dollars to cover their operations, “not handouts from the county.”