Ross County officials finalized a $66.7 million budget for 2007 Tuesday.
The budget increase represents an overall 2.5 percent increase from 2006 and allows for a 3.5 percent salary increase for county employees.
The county commissioners also were able to keep a property tax rollback saving property tax owners about $1.2 million, said President of the Ross County Board of Commissioners James Caldwell. "We had to get state approval to repeal that property tax when we began doing that some years ago," Caldwell said. "When the sales tax increased, we started that and it really helps the taxpayers of Ross County."
The commissioners made no significant cuts to any department or sector of the county; however the budget for the Board of Elections was reduced by $155,000. County Auditor Steve Neal said that's typical for an off-year election.
