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For the past several weeks, three members of the Vigo County Council have worked beyond their normal roles.
As members of the county’s Annual Budget Committee, council members Jim Mann, Mike Morris, and Vicki Weger are given the task of creating a 18 month budget for Vigo County.
“The goal is always to provide the best government for the Vigo County taxpayer,” Mann said.
According to Mann, the process of creating the budget starts with hours long meetings with department heads such as the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department and Prosecutor’s Office, where they discuss any new requests for the upcoming year.
“It’s like a puzzle. You have all these pieces out there and you’re trying to put the pieces together,” Mann said.
Mann says when creating the budget committee looks at two key factors, revenue and expenses.
“If you know your expenses are going up and your revenue is going down, that’s a situation that’s different than if your revenue’s are increasing. We’re looking at how much money is available this year compared to last year,” Mann said.
While creating a final version of the budget, Mann says it should answer an important question.
“‘What does government have to do? What does local government have to do?’ And then if there’s additional funds, what additional items could government provide?” Mann said. Mann says for the 2020 budget, the committee will have to consider new requests, such as staffing for the new Vigo County jail.
For the budget to go into effect it must be passed by the budget committee and full county council. Mann says if things go as planned, it could be adopted in October.
