Madison Co. commissioners approve budget

JACKSON, Tenn. — Madison County commissioners approved a $189 million budget Friday for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office will get nearly $21 million, a more than 6 percent increase from last year. “We’ve added a lot of personnel there that was basically needed that we’ve been short on for a long time,” Madison County Commission Chairman Gary Deaton said.

Commissioner Luther T. Mercer voted for the budget but said he thinks the county is spending too much money on the sheriff’s office. “If we educate our kids, then we don’t have to build new jails or add onto jails or whatever,” Mercer said.

The county said some of the additional funding for the sheriff’s office will pay for staffing, like more deputies at the jail and school resource officers. “We’re getting more patrol people out on the streets, and that’s important,” Madison County Sheriff John Mehr said.

Jackson-Madison County Schools will get about $2.8 million for capital projects, more than $2 million less than they requested. “In the past, some of the money that was appropriated was used for different things other than capital,” Deaton said.

“Our goal is to be able to have as close to a price on what the cost of the project will be from beginning to end,” Jackson-Madison County School System Superintendent Dr. Verna Ruffin said.

The commission also approved more than $280,000 in funding for education technology.

Commissioners voted not to increase property taxes.