Madison Co. Budget Committee meets with department heads

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — The county’s Budget Committee met again Thursday with time winding down before a budget has to approved by the entire commission.

The committee started approving departments’ budgets Thursday afternoon to try and get a better idea of whose numbers need to be trimmed down before the final draft.

Committee members voted to keep the budget’s overall increase from last year to four percent. Commissioners say that kind of growth is a good thing but needs to be managed properly.

“As the county grows, then you have more services and you have to add more people to handle those services,” Budget Committee Chairman Doug Stephenson said. “What we want to try to do is keep that growth in check.”

The budget committee has a list of departments it will hear from at its meeting next Friday to try and get to that four percent increase.

Madison County’s budget must be approved twice by commissioners by July 1.