Editor’s note: This is the first of three installments regarding the county commissioners’ conversation with department heads and elected officials regarding their proposed budgets for the next fiscal year.
YORK – This past week, the York County Commissioners held budget conversations with all of the elected officials and department heads in order to talk about their needs and requests.
“The budget committee has talked about each department’s budgets, but we thought it would be a good idea for the department heads to speak with all the commissioners,” said Commissioner Chairman Daniel Grotz.
York County Clerk Mary Melby – who oversees the clerk’s office, the elections office and the registrar of deeds – said her proposed budget was actually decreasing by 3%. She noted she had a part-time clerk last year and that position no longer exists. She said she is hoping to have a 75-cent increase in pay for her staff with a $1 raise for her deputy clerk.
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Megan Williams, the county treasurer, said her proposed budget only had a very slight increase and she was asking to purchase a new printer. She also noted there is a vacant position in her office at this time and they were working to see if they could operate without hiring someone to fill that position.
York County Assessor Kurt Bulgrin said he wants to continue “modernizing the office” and he would like the technical ability for individuals to file their personal property online, noting personal property schedules would still be private and not available to the public. “People would be able to upload their own depreciation schedules and the system would update their personal property files.”
Bulgrin said he also wanted to see competitive wages for staff. Commissioner Randy Obermier noted how savings were going to have to be found somewhere within county spending so they could cover the ever-increasing costs of court-appointed counsel within the county court spending. “We will look at your numbers and get something figured out,” Obermier said to Bulgrin.
When it comes to the data processing line of spending, officials said “we had been enjoying some federal funds but those will be exhausted this year,” based on the needs expressed by different offices for new computers. Last year’s budget for data processing was $215,000 – the request as it stands now is $280,000.
Alison O’Neill from the York County Court office said the number of juvenile cases continues to skyrocket and there has been a noticeable uptick in crime.
“That all leads us to where we are,” she said. “And during the time period when the public defender’s office wouldn’t take any more cases, there were 300 criminal cases filed. Did all of them need attorneys? Not necessarily, but that’s a significant amount.”
“Now that the public defender’s office is back to taking cases, are there still being court-appointed attorneys assigned?” Obermier asked.
“Mostly for juvenile cases,” O’Neill said.
“So in your $400,000 figure, does that take all of this into account?” Obermier asked.
O’Neill said since 2022, the county court “has consistently exceeded the budget for court-appointed counsel.” She also acknowledged there is no way to predict or know how many cases will be filed and how many cases will require court-appointed counsel.
With building and grounds, Obermier said they would need to “look at wages but otherwise, this budget is pretty straightforward.”
Grotz noted how representation from the county extension office was not available due to the county fair, “but this budget has seen no big change and it’s pretty straightforward.”
When it came to the county surveyor office, Obermier noted how Rex Heiden has indicated his intentions to retire and someone has filed to run for this seat.
York County Commissioner Andy Bowman spoke for the weed department, saying “we are fairly uncompetitive when it comes to wages and with a jump in situations we will need more supplies. And we need a different pickup, which is functional, but we are trying to think out of the box about this as we look at different options.”
For veteran services, Bowman said the biggest thing to consider will be wages for the office assistant “as we don’t know what this year will look like with Nick’s situation” as the service officer has been and is currently deployed.
Lori Byers addressed the commissioners, discussing the proposed budgets for public transportation and aging services.
Regarding transportation services, “we have taken steps to become more efficient in any way we can. The numbers are here, if we stay status quo, but if we were fully funded by the state as we had been the county’s portion would be much lower. (The state’s funds went down about $20,000). The county’s portion is about $80,000 if we remain status quo and if we need to reduce the county’s portion, we will need to cut services. We raised fares last year and we really can’t do that again this year. This is a statewide issue, not just in York County. With the state funds decreasing, more will be up to the counties to pay for things.”
Regarding aging services, she said food costs in the previous year “were very high and they continue to increase.” She said the suggested contribution cost for meals was raised but then the contribution figures went down. “And I was notified by the York Senior Center they are going to be asking for an increase in rent.”
Commissioner Obermier noted how the roads department has been doing some work to alleviate drainage issues at the aging/transportation facility located just off North Division Avenue. He said work there will continue to be needed.
Moving on to the miscellaneous fund, Grotz said there were no proposed changes.
Mindy Gerken, director of the county’s 911 emergency communications center, said the proposed budget had some increases included, such as a 1.5% increase in personnel services, a 3% increase in office supplies and materials and an 18% increase in operating expenses due to the need for quite a few maintenance agreements for technical programs, software and services.
“But in the grand scheme of things, the overall increase would be 2.6%.” Obermier noted how the state’s public service commission “graciously” gives the county $72,000 “to run a $1.3 million office.”
Editor’s note: This is the first installment of three parts in the coverage of the county commissioners’ discussion with department heads and elected officials about their proposed budgets for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The next installment will include conversations with roads department, emergency management, the York County Visitors Bureau and the planning/zoning department.
