County leaders meet to discuss Proposition L budget

County leaders, including the county auditor, commissioner and sheriff met to discuss Proposition L, a supplemental budget that helps support the county court and sheriff’s department budgets. The group meets once a year to look at the fund and what they can expect in the coming year.

Prop L gets its funds from a 1/8th-cent sales tax approved by county voters. Like Columbia, sales tax for Boone County has been down and money in this fund, as well as the county’s general fund are tight.

“This fund is at its maximum as far as revenue,” County Auditor June Pitchford said during the meeting. Pitchford says the group needs to be mindful of any added expenses they put on the fund.

Added expenses could include any type of camera technology for the sheriff’s department. Providing deputies with cameras would not only require an initial investment cost, but a reoccurring cost of storage for the video that is recorded.

“There’s not enough money,” Sheriff Dwayne Carey said during the meeting. “It’s been tapped out for years.”