Carroll County Commissioners adopted a $508 million fiscal 2016 budget yesterday, maintaining tax rates and increasing funding for the school system and nonprofits supported by the county.

As reported by the Carroll County Times,

The total budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, is almost $508 million. The largest contributors to revenue are property taxes, income tax, charges for service, inter fund transfers and intergovernmental funds, which account for about 83 percent of all anticipated revenue.

Of the $508 million in planned spending, almost $380 million is covered in the county’s General Fund and about $53 million in the Capital Fund, equating to about 85 percent of the total budget. Of the $380 million in the General Fund, $169.5 million has been appropriated for Carroll County Public Schools.

To provide additional funding in the budget for schools and nonprofits, Commissioners approved the use of fund balance.

The commissioners used more than $8 million in one-time funds to grant several ongoing funding requests, including increasing the county’s contribution to the school system and funding levels to the nonprofits supported by Carroll government. This one-time money was made up of a surplus from FY15 and funds accumulated in the cable franchise fee fund that had gone unspent in previous years.

More information on the approved fiscal 2016 operating and capital budget can be found on the county’s website.