The Aroostook County Commissioners and the county’s finance committee voted Tuesday to approve a budget for the next fiscal year that is nearly 11% higher than the current year.
The general fund rose by roughly $1 million, the jail budget by almost $700,000, and the unorganized territory budget by around $640,000, pushing the collective budget north of $23.2 million.
The largest increase in the general fund is attributable to law enforcement, which climbed by close to 11% to $5.2 million due to rising salary and benefits, an increase in training and education staff and the cost of ammunition, interim county administrator Dana Gendreau said at a budget hearing Tuesday.
As the budget for the Aroostook County Jail rose at the same rate to top $7 million for the first time, departmental revenues dropped by more than $200,000 for the second consecutive year because of a decline in community corrections funding and no legislative support at the state level.
The shift, alongside other rising costs, means the county will have to collect an additional $900,000 from Aroostook County taxpayers to support the jail alone for the coming fiscal year.
“Jail funding is the trickiest department of county government,” Gendreau said.