Grant County approves $125M 2017 budget

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County commissioners have approved a $125.5 million budget for 2017, including $31 million to maintain the county’s roads, $13 million for law enforcement, and $9 million for the county’s mental health services.

The largest chunk of the county’s budget comes from property taxes, which account for $26.45 million in revenue, of which $8.8 million is dedicated to road upkeep.

Grant County is also anticipating $8.6 million in sales taxes ($1.8 million from that is dedicated to rural development and economic development) and $6.7 million is gasoline taxes (set aside for the roads) during 2017.

In the realm of justice, Grant County is expecting to spend $13 million on law enforcement alone in 2017 — $5.4 million on the jail and $7.7 million on the sheriff’s department — as well as an additional $3.1 million on the county’s juvenile justice system, $6.4 on both prosecuting and defending suspects, and $3.8 million on the county’s district and superior courts.

The bulk of the county’s law enforcement costs go for labor. The jail employs 28 corrections officers as well as two lieutenants and a chief deputy in charge. The sheriff’s office currently employs 28 deputies, five corporals, seven sergeants, six detectives, nine administrative assistants, and one animal control officer, in addition to the elected sheriff.

The highest-paid officials in Grant County remain the prosecuting attorney and the chief public defender, both of whom make around $166,000 per year, and the three district court judges, each of whom is slated to make around $155,000 in 2017.

A typical elected official, including the three superior court judges and the county commissioners, makes around $83,000 per year.

Grant County is planning about $2.2 million in capital investments/major purchases this coming year.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.