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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission gave final approval to the county's budget Thursday before sending it to the state.
The commissioners initially approved the more than $27.6 million budget on Monday and sent it to Wood County Clerk Joe Gonzales for a final review. Any significant changes needed would have been taken care of Thursday, but none were required.
"We had some good things and some not-so-good things," Commission President Blair Couch said.
Bringing up the pay of the lowest-paid county employees has been a "hallmark" of the commission's efforts over the last five budget years.
"Trying to get everyone on equal footing has been kind of hard," Couch said.
The budget includes a 4% pay increase for each employee, and $60 a month was added to the employee health care plan, regardless of coverage class. The county also added $1,000 per employee to the health reimbursement account and $2,000 per family.
Elected county officials including Gonzales, Prosecutor Pat Lefebure, Circuit Clerk Celeste Ridgway and Assessor David Nohe were all present for the final approval, as well as Wood County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Mike Deem.
The commission wants the department heads to notify them of any change in pay within their offices, Couch said.
"We are the fiscal police of the county," Couch said. "We hope everyone understands that."
They also want to be notified when an employee is disciplined or let go so they can inform their insurance company in case someone files a lawsuit.
West Virginia University Extension Office workers employed by the county were among the lowest paid, and they got them up to $35,000 each, a $4,500 increase.
Overall, the county's revenues have increased, but so have expenses, Couch said.
The county's Rainy Day Fund has $5.1 million, and the capital reserve has $2.3 million. They have $14.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act money that has not been spent, although some has been allocated to project like the Resiliency Center and new 911 facility.
"We will be able to handle some capital improvements," Couch said.
County Administrator Marty Seufer said it is important for people to understand that the money in those other accounts cannot be brought into the budget.
"The budget has to be based on the revenue coming in and on the carryover," he said. "Although it sounds like we have money in the bank that we could do more with, we are not allowed to use it."
Couch said they are one-time funds for specific projects.
A lot of work was done to make sure the employees did not go negative on their pay, Seufer said adding they took steps to minimize insurance costs to the employees.
In other business, representatives from Perry and Associates appeared before the commission to discuss a recent audit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, according to a letter from Jodey L. Altier, CPA, CFF.
They had previously met with Gonzales and Seufer in early March to begin work. A letter from the company said there were areas where they needed additional information to address some reconciliation issues and errors and enhance reporting.
Although the audit was due today, the county will hold off finalizing it until April 30, without penalty, to correct some items.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com