Putnam Begins Work On New Budget Accepting Departmental Requests

Putnam County has began working on its new fiscal year budget.

Department heads have started to submit budget drafts to Mayor Randy Porter. Porter said the goal is to have the spending plan passed by July.

“Before, it wasn’t passed until sometimes the end of August and even later,” Porter said. “We have all been able to do it except for one year in July, so we want to try to get it coming together and have everything to be to the state at least 30 days before their deadline of August 31st.”

Each year the county commission approves a budget calendar laying out the tentative timeline. Porter said passing the spending plan early has been a target since entering office in 2014.

According to the calendar, budget requests will be accepted until April. Porter will then use the drafts to prepare a presentation for the county’s budget committee consisting of nine commissioners.

The committee will use the information to start preparing budget recommendations come May. Those members include Mike Atwood, Kathy Dunn, Chris Cassetty, Jim Martin, Ben Rogers, Dale Moss, Grover Bennett Jr., Kim Bradford and Jonathan Williams. Porter appointed the committee in February.

“I set my own little policy to start with to only put one person per district,” Porter said. “I wouldn’t put two commissioners from the same district. A lot of you have served on the budget committee. A lot of it has to do with experience when it comes to county commission and being on budget committees before. I try to do the very best I can.”