Knox County Still Faces $212,000 Deficit

knox county sealThe Knox County Finance Committee has whittled another $600,000 off the county’s looming general fund deficit, leaving roughly $212,000 worth of cuts still on the table.

Before the committee went into executive session last night, WGIL asked Committee Chairman Greg Bacon if the deficit meant more than $200,000 worth of layoffs.

“Unless we can go through it and find $212,000 more,” Bacon said, “you can read between the lines. I’m not going to say it.”

Earlier in the meeting, State’s Attorney John Pepmeyer convinced to committee to keep a drug prosecutor on the county payroll for at least another year.

“I think I’ve made the case for the reason for this prosecutor,” Pepmeyer said. “It’s the effectiveness in reducing meth and the educational component to the schools and the successful prosecutions for multi-year terms.”

The county Pays about $70,000 annually to keep the prosecutor position, a number Pepmeyer agreed to bring down significantly by moving money from the Drug Forfeiture Fund.

The State’s Attorney’s Office will still be seeing about $33,000 in cuts.

The general fund deficit sat at $1.2 million when the committee was originally tasked with finding reductions. A tentative budget will be brought before the full County Board next Wednesday.

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