Carbon County officials narrowly approved a preliminary capital projects budget for 2024 so that the timeline for final approval can be met.

During the commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, the board voted 2-1 to accept the preliminary budget. Commissioner Chris Lukasevich cast the sole no vote.

This is the third budget the county needed to be approve. Last month, the board in 2-1 votes, approved the preliminary $60 general fund budget and the $8.1 million special funds budget. Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein voted no on both of those budgets.

The new capital projects fund budget decreased the initial budget from $5.5 million to $4,452,584.

Nothstein stressed his previous concerns, saying that the way the county is taking money from its fund balance is going to come back to bite them in the next few years.

He cited a Children and Youth contract on Thursday’s agenda with a provider that increased many of the services upwards of $100 per case.

“We can’t just keep spending down our fund balance,” he said. “Which is again, dangerously low. That’s why I’m opposed to transferring the funds out of the parking fund. It’s one of the few funds that we’re going to have much left at the end of the year. ... How are you going to make up those funds that we’re losing in the budget, the deficit. You’re looking at another $652,000 for salaries alone and all the other issues that we’ve been passing over two months for increased fees.”

Commissioner Rocky Ahner responded that he didn’t want to have such a cushion in the capital projects budget because it opens up the possibility of additional spending on projects instead of tightening down their belts.

“We have to start curbing this,” he said, adding that he feels the extra money should be spent on employee salaries instead. “The more money that we’ve put in here, the more can go to change orders ... The less money that we have in there, the more we’re going to make rational decisions.

“We’ve been working on raises for people for how many years,” Ahner continued. “... I feel that we can give people a pretty decent raise and that capital fund has nothing to do with what we’re giving the people.”

He pointed out that approximately $1.1 million of the $4.4 million fund is made up from the parking fund, which currently stands at approximately $1.7 million; however, the commissioners need to buckle down before the final budget is approved in December.

“I’m tired of the excuses that we don’t have money for (the employees) and all this other stuff, but we keep giving our contingency away to companies and we don’t take care of our own people,” Ahner said, adding that he doesn’t see the point of increasing taxes to hold the money in the county bank account for years.

Nothstein shot back that all he wants is to see a balanced budget.

“We have not had that. That fund balance has been spent down,” he said. “We’re at the danger zone where you’re going to have to do something next year or you’re not going to meet your expenses. That’s the issue here. It has nothing to do with the capital fund. That money has been committed ... We have signed contracts. You’re just playing the numbers game here.

“You’re spending way over what your revenues are and you’re taking your fund balances down to nothing. That’s the problem. ... Unless you do something, you’re not going to have money to pay these people. That’s the problem.”

Ahner said there are approximately 40 vacant positions that have not been filled in years and that money just keeps padding the budget.

Nothstein cited Children and Youth positions that are hard to fill due to civil service requirements, as well as the high turnover rate.

Ahner said that isn’t a good point since the county only pays 20% for the department, while the other 80% is funded through the state.

He pointed out that the state compounds the funding problem when it doesn’t send reimbursements and requires counties to fund programs that are mandated but not funded through the state.

The commissioners said that the decrease in this fund does not change the millage rate for the county, and will work on the final budget, which will be voted on at the Dec. 14 meeting.

This may not be the end of the budget discussion though. Under county code, when a new board of commissioners is sworn in, the new board will have the option to reopen the approved budget to make changes.

The new board of commissioners, which will consist of Nothstein and Ahner, as well as newcomer Michael Sofranko, will be sworn in in January.