Think of the 2009 county budget as an exercise in pain management.

Commissioner Chairman Dennis Stuckey said arriving at a budget proposal that controls spending and slightly reduces county expenses was difficult for many departments.

But he said, "We've tried to spread the pain as much as we possibly can."

While all county departments will be forced to endure some pain, commissioners took comfort in the fact that keeping tax rates level will shield residents from the hurt.

"We can't pass that pain on to them in this budget. Times are tough. I'm thankful that we're able to not do that," Commissioner Scott Martin said.

Commissioners commented on their budget proposal Tuesday night during an evening session where Charlie Douts, county administrator, gave a public presentation of the 2009 spending plan.

About 80 people, including many county employees, gathered in Courtroom A of the Lancaster County Courthouse to hear the formal presentation of the budget, which was unveiled three weeks ago.

In his 23-minute talk, Douts laid out some specifics of the budget in a 33-slide PowerPoint presentation.

The 2009 budget proposal puts total operating costs at $272.39 million with total revenues of $259.42 million. A fund balance and reserves bridge the gap.

Nearly half of the total budget is comprised of state or federal money that "passes through" the county. The general fund budget, which is money that is both raised and spent in Lancaster County, is projected at $148.84 million next year, a drop of $826,821 from this year — less than 1 percent.

The budget proposal also keeps the county's millage rate at 3.416. At that level, someone who owns a property assessed at $100,000 pays $341.60 in county taxes.

After Douts' presentation, 12 people spoke during the public comment period. Almost all of them were representatives of local libraries who asked commissioners to restore some funding for libraries.

In the 2009 budget, commissioners allocate $2 million in base funding for the Library System of Lancaster County, which has 16 member libraries.

The county will also provide $150,000 if the library can match the amount. Last year, the county's total allocation for the library was $2.3 million, which included a $300,000 match.

After the meeting, Martin said that the budget is not yet finalized but added that library funding — as worthy as it is — is not something that the county is obligated to support.

"We can't undercut the fact that we do have a lot of mandated services that we have to provide for," Martin said.

Stuckey said he thought the proposed library allocation is the "most efficient" use of money.

Commissioners have scheduled another work session on the budget for Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and are planning to adopt a final budget on Dec. 17.

In a separate meeting this morning, commissioners approved a total increase of roughly $136,000 for planned renovations of the Amtrak station, which puts pre-construction costs on the long-delayed project at $1.9 million.

Once construction actually begins, $11.6 million in state and federal money will be used to complete the work, with the county contributing $400,000 in building costs.

Planned renovations include adding shops, restaurants and Amtrak offices in addition to an expansion of the parking lot and creation of a separate waiting area for bus passengers.

Also planned are upgrades to the station's heating and air conditioning systems as well as a realignment of the station driveway to meet North Duke Street.

Bids are scheduled to be received for the project in February and awarded in March. Once it begins, construction is expected to last two years.

Also this morning, commissioners approved a $95,740 grant application from the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a study of the authority's waste system and disposal capacity.

Among other things, the study will consider a possible expansion of the county's solid waste incinerator in Conoy Township.


Staff writer Chad Umble can be reached at cumble@LNPnews.com or 481-6031.