The Marion County Board of Supervisors is holding special sessions in order to plan the 2017-18 budget.

The supervisors met with department heads yesterday and are continuing today to listen to department requests and gather information about how to allocate county dollars. Yesterday, the board heard from Senior Nutrition Director Dawn Allspach-Kline and County Engineer Tyler Christian, among others. Christian tells the board fiscal year 2018 will see a historic high in department budget as a raft of planned projects will be completed. Christian’s budget proposal included a 200% increase in contractor costs to account for the projects. About 64% of the road department’s primary budget is accounted for by the road use tax. The county budget is due March 15, but County Auditor Jake Grandia tells KNIA/KRLS News the supervisors should have a budget proposal ready for a public hearing around the end of February or beginning of March, depending on how long decisions take.