County Commission recommends 2021 budget with flat mill levy

Douglas County Commissioners set the 2021 county budget for publication during a public meeting July 9. They recommended a budget of $125.5 million with a flat mill levy of 46.430 mills.

Commissioners reviewed $2.8 million in requests for additional funding. Of those requests, they approved four for a total of $285,318. They are:

• $16,665 to expand the contract with Little Government Relations to provide advocacy on behalf of the county at the state level of government.
• $27,653 to Heartland Community Health Center for one-time expenses associated with adding a primary care provider team consisting of a medical assistant, registered nurse and primary care provider for a total of 1.75 FTE.
• $10,000 to Eudora Chamber of Commerce to help provide a “home base” for its operations.
• $231,000 to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical for new portable radios. The radios would replace the existing ones carried by staff and improve the standard of technology used for emergency communications. The total cost is $900,000 and the county’s share is 25.64% of the project. The City of Lawrence’s share is $669,000.

Additionally, County Commissioners approved spending $230,000 for six requests from the Commissioners Contingency Funding if the agencies do not receive money from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. These requests are:

• $38,500 to Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center to help with operational support.
• $20,000 to Emergency Services Council for rental assistance.
• $50,000 to Just Food for renovation of the building entrance to relieve overcrowding and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• $50,000 to Lawrence Community Shelter for rental assistance.
• $30,000 to Trinity In-Home Care to help with operational support.
• $40,000 to Children’s Advocacy Center, a new agency, to help with operational support.

The budget will be adopted during an Aug. 12 public hearing that will be held as part of the Board of County Commissioners business meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Audio recordings of the budget hearings and deliberations are available on our website: http://dgcoks.org/reports.

To view more information about the county budget: http://budget.douglascountyks.org.