by Alan McArthur
Landmark reporter

Platte County's budget was approved by the Platte County Commission after a special public hearing on Thursday. The budget also included several updates since an initial budget was released by the county auditor.

The total budget will be more than $58.1 million with a $19.4 million portion in the general fund.
Increases in the budget for 2008 include an additional $809,000 to law enforcement, increased employee benefits of $401,000 and additional funding for county elections of $150,000.

Part of the proposed 2008 budget includes a total cash carryover from 2007 of $1.7 million and a carryover in the Use Tax revenue from 2007 of $381,580. Lower costs for expenditures in the emergency fund as well as sheriff salaries and health insurance helped boost the total cash carryover for 2007.

Other additional funding items include $400,000 for tornado sirens, $200,000 for Platte County Resource Center improvements, $175,000 for a microfiche document retention project, $125,000 for updated financial software systems, and $200,000 for building improvements.

There are also allocations for $300,000 for Benner Park improvements and an unused amount of $193,000 for the parks outreach grant.

The commission approved 2008 budget is available on the Platte County Auditor's website www.co.platte.mo.us/county_off_aud.html.