HUTCHINSON, Kan. — It sounds like the budget discussions for Reno County are likely going to be tacked on to the end of their regular meetings in June or July rather than having their own separate time period.
County Administrator Randy Partington is going to check with department heads, but the commission feels that thanks to the monthly reports they are getting from him and the additional communication that's happening during the year, they don't necessarily need full blown presentations from each department on what they do as part of the budget process this time around.
Commissioners also didn't express an opinion yet on specific cuts or changes to the capital improvement plan presented to them Tuesday. That wasn't necessarily because they won't want to make cuts, but they want to do so in the context of the entire budget process.
The only inflation related discussion at all with regard to the overall budget that took place during the CIP portion on Tuesday was a very brief comment from Commissioner Ron Hirst about the potential for additional oil and asphalt costs in public works in the coming year. It is a virtual certainty that those expenses will go up as long as the crude oil market continues at its current level.
It will be a challenge for any and all budgeting entities to hold the actual dollar line in 2023, given the increased costs of materials and fuel across the board. The Reno County Commission was a local agency that last year was able to comply with the state's Truth in Taxation law and not have its budget go up in actual dollars.