Adams County budget delivered for Christmas

RITZVILLE — Adams County Commissioners unanimously approved a $60.73 million 2025 total county budget on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.

The current 2024 budget totals $59.61 million, meaning the 2025 budget has increased by $1.12 million more than in 2024.

“The adopted budget includes the following elected officials salaries set by the Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. Medical insurance cap is $1,076 per month,” Commissioner Dan Blankenship said.

As an example, the annual pay for a county commissioner is Adams County was set at $81,945 in 2023, by the Citizen’s Salary Commission.

Blankenship said other categories of employees are similarly capped at $1,076 per month for medical insurance with a 3% cost of living allowance as part of the compensation package.

“That would include public works, courthouse, corrections, dispatch, and sheriff,” Blankenship said.

Those five categories all have their own union which sets pay rates and benefits with county government.

Funding in the county comes primarily from taxes and fees.

Tax increases are capped at 1% per year.

Current expenses are paid for by income from courts, board of commissioners, auditor, treasurer, assessor, prosecutor, police operations, and others.

“Between revenue sources shrinking and expenses going up, and then we have an overrun with care and custody, with our issues with the jail, we’ve obviously got some things to clean up in reporting with the sheriff’s office,” Blankenship said. “It has been a challenge, but it’s not as bad as it looks on the outside, either,”

Blankenship said getting the budget done with the American Rescue Plan Act was also challenging, “but I think we got that put to bed as well.”

Most of the Dec. 24 meeting was invested in a long line of resolutions.