Montgomery County Commission Holds Budget Hearings for Next Fiscal Year
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) — The Montgomery County Commission is holding budget hearings this week as county officials work to finalize the budget for the next fiscal year.
Elected leaders, including Sheriff Derrick Cunningham and District Attorney Azzie Oliver, along with other department heads, are presenting requests for additional funding to help their departments operate more efficiently.
“It’s a process we go through every summer, and we’re very particular about how we budget the county funding and the money,” Commission Chairman Doug Singleton said.
Among the requests from the county’s 21 departments is $610,638 for overtime pay for Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies who assist the Montgomery Police Department with patrols and calls inside the city limits. The sheriff’s department is seeking nearly $1.2 million, largely to cover extra costs tied to supporting the police department, including vehicle repairs, equipment and uniforms.
“They present their asks, their needs and their wants, and we pick through that pretty tight to make sure every dime and every penny that we have is being used and allocated throughout the county for the best interest of the entire Montgomery County,” Singleton said.
Rising food costs have made it more expensive to feed inmates in the county jail. The daily cost to feed each inmate has more than doubled from $1.75 to $5, prompting the jail to request an additional $1.9 million for food services this year.
The budget hearings are scheduled to continue through Thursday. The full proposed budget will be presented for a vote by the County Commission in September.
