Okanogan County commissioners approved a $58 million budget for 2014 on Monday (Dec. 23). The budget is $2.67 million above last year’s, and most departments saw only a modest increase over 2013.
In the final budget, $20 million is allocated to current expense, $21.5 million to Public Works, and the remainder to miscellaneous funds and junior taxing districts such as the fire and communications districts.
Funds for the mental health fund were more than doubled, and allocations for addressing alcohol abuse were increased almost four-fold. The County Fair got 50 percent more than its 2013 appropriation. The Okanogan County Noxious Weed Control Board had its budget cut by 59 percent.
This year the county is using a bottom-line budget, allowing department heads to decide where to make cuts, rather than coming up with line-by-line amounts, said Commissioner Jim DeTro last month as they were working on the numbers.
