Lancaster County commissioners unanimously approved a 2019 budget Wednesday that includes no tax increase.
The tax remains 2.911 mills, which means the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would have a tax bill of $582.
Total general fund expenses are up 2.04 percent from this year for a projected total of $162.7 million. Revenue is expected to rise by 1.94 percent to $163 million.
Funding and expenses for other county services and programs that are mostly supported by state and federal grants are also increasing.
View the full 2019 Lancaster County Budget.
Those revenues, which help to pay for domestic relations, the Youth Intervention Center and other programs, are projected to increase by $519,606 to just under $102.8 million. Expenses are also increasing by about $1.4 million to $106.5 million.
The largest increases to the budget by department are on the law enforcement/corrections side.
Expenses for the Lancaster County Prison are increasing $1.63 million to $28.66 million, which Warden Cheryl Steberger said at a meeting in October is a “direct result” of a newly negotiated contract with the prison union.
Costs for Adult Probation and Parole Services are up too — about $500,000 over the 2018 budget. Chief Probation Officer Mark Wilson said it is due mostly to increased personnel costs.
The district attorney's office will see an increase of $440,732 in 2019, putting its budget at nearly $8 million, and the sheriff's office will receive an additional $327,160, which county Sheriff Chris Leppler said is needed for greater prisoner transportation costs, staff development, vehicle leases and equipment costs.
