Even though Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger already wants to talk money for schools for 2019, the county commission still has to pass the 2018 budget.
The commission votes June 21 on the $691.5 million budget proposal, which offers a 1.5 percent salary bump, with a minimum of $750, for county personnel, and it makes room to hire 32 more employees. It knocks down debt service by nearly $1 million.
“It does not include any property tax increase, but we’re really proud of the fact that we are able to address public issues such as education and public safety in this budget,” Coppinger said when he formally presented the budget to the commission last week.
The general fund budget grew by $4 million and the school system budget increased by $8 million over the 2017 budget. The new budget includes $3.5 million in property tax growth, representing a 2.5 percent boost.
The general fund portion of the budget, which pays for just about everything outside of the Hamilton County Department of Education, amounts to $222.7 million. Hamilton County Schools accounts for $425.7 million of the budget. Including capital projects funded through the general fund, education spending amounts to 66 percent of the overall budget.