ALFRED — Residents countywide have a chance to express their thoughts on the proposed York County government general fund budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 at a public hearing on Wednesday.

The proposed budget, at slightly under $20.6 million, is up 2.42 percent from the current year. Of the total, an estimated $17.42 or 84.63 percent, is funded by taxation to York County’s 29 municipalities, with 15.37 percent made up from other revenue sources, according to figures supplied by the county.

The hearing is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the York County government office building at 149 Jordan Springs Road, Route 4 in Alfred.

In all, the budget is up about $487,000 from the current year. Of that increase, $250,000 will go to the $750,000 budget for Layman Way Recovery Center.

The recovery center provides residential drug and alcohol treatment to eligible non-violent York County Jail inmates who are legal residents of the county. Participants must be screened for eligibility. The program is a collaboration between York County government and York County Shelter Programs.

County Manager Greg Zinser told members of the York County Budget Committee earlier this month that county commissioners had sought a “status quo’” budget for the coming year.

The spending plan adds two positions, an office manager at the York County Sheriff’s Office starting at mid-year, and a fire coordinator liaison position at York County Emergency Management Agency. At EMA, the fire coordinator position was funded for six months in the current year but not filled; it is proposed as a full-time position in the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget committee has taken preliminary votes on each departmental budget and could vote the final spending plan immediately after Wednesday’s public hearing or at a future date.

The budget proposal was first reviewed and endorsed by York County commissioners, who recommended the spending plan to the York County Budget Committee, which reviewed the document in a record two meetings this year.

Budget Committee Chairman John Sylvester said the panel didn’t set out to complete its work in two meetings, but they acted on some of the items as they went along and then decided to act on the rest.

He said it was his understanding that was due to how commissioners approached the budget this year.

“The commissioners said to all department heads before they voted their approval, ‘are you satisfied with your budget,’ and they said yes, I am told,” said Sylvester. That meant there were no additional proposals from department heads to the budget committee, he added.

Sylvester said there was some discussion about the office position at the Sheriff’s Department. Draft minutes  indicate the office manager will have a supervisory role over the existing administrative staff for the three divisions — jail, civil process and rural patrol.

A motion to reduced the Sheriff’s Office budget that would have cut funds for the office manager position failed, with 5 members voting in favor and 6 against. A motion to approve the Sheriff’s Office budget at $2.9 million was approved 8 to 3.

Sheriff William L. King Jr., said he thought the budget process had gone well.

King  said the county manager, commissioners and he worked closely on the proposed budget for the agency.

One departmental budget, the York County Registry of Deeds, is down 6 percent from the current year, due, according to meeting minutes, to the retirement of some long tenured personnel.

The budget for the York County Registry of Probate is down as well, by about 2 percent.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.

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