The Indiana County Commissioners this (Wednesday) morning approved the preliminary budget for the county, and for the eighth year in a row, there will be no tax increases for county residents.
County real estate taxes will remain at 4.445 mills. The county’s revenues will come to $40,102,224, and expenditures will come to $45,932,762. The county will use the opening balance of roughly $5 million to cover the budget gap. County Commissioner Rod Ruddock said that crafting a balanced budget is getting difficult.
The budget will be on display at the county commissioners’ office and is expected to be approved in late December.
In other business, the commissioners approved temporary workplace easement extension at Pine Ridge Park in the Sunoco Mariner East Pipeline Project. The 12-month extension will allow their contractor to remove temporary erosion control devices and reseed any areas of the pipeline that need it after the winter season.
Finally, Commissioner Rod Ruddock was honored with a special proclamation from State Representative Jim Struzzi for his many years of public service in the military, as an educator and as a county commissioner. Ruddock will retire from the Commissioner’s post next month.
