ROCKLAND, Maine — Residents of Knox County can have their say on the proposed 2015 county government budget on Thursday evening.
The public hearing on the proposal will begin at 5 p.m. in the jury assembly room on the first floor of the courthouse.
The budget unveiled three weeks ago by the county administration proposed expenditures to rise about 3 percent to $8,767,000.
The county’s share of the jail budget accounts for the single largest expense at $3,573,000, the same as in 2014. The sheriff’s patrol budget is proposed at $1,949,000, up about 4 percent. Sheriff Donna Dennison has proposed creating an additional patrol supervisor position.
The communications budget is down about 1 percent to $1 million.
The airport budget is proposed at $570,000, up 16 percent. An administrative position is proposed to increase from 32 hours per week to 36 hours per week.
The administration budget is proposed at $527,000, also up about 4 percent.
The only other additional position proposed is for a new 20-hour-per-week geospatial database manager in the emergency management budget at $16,730.
The possible 6.6 percent increase in the county communities’ tax commitment is because of, in part, an expected decrease in revenues.
Under the budget unveiled two weeks ago, Camden — which pays the most of any community because of its higher valuation — would see its payment increase by about $70,000, reaching $1,266,000. Rockport would pay $57,000 more, reaching $1,012,000. Rockland would pay $44,000 more for a total tax commitment of $926,000.