Warren County commissioners worked to dispel misunderstandings about how the county’s budget works at a public hearing Tuesday.The commission addressed questions from a few members of the public, trying to answer any concerns before giving final approval to the county’s 2017 budget with a 3-0 vote.One comment from the commissioners was that the amount budgeted in any particular year likely is more than will be spent. The county budgets for potential needs, expecting that a large portion of that money will not be used and will go back to general revenue for the next year.The county’s general revenue fund, which supplies the bulk of its governmental departments, is predicted to bring in about $420,000 more this year than it did in 2016, up from $3.71 million to $4.13 million.General expenditures are about $60,000 less than they were in 2016 — from $4.62 million down to $4.56 million.Actual expenditures in 2016 were much lower than the approved budget. The county ended the year with more than $1.3 million remaining in the county’s general revenue fund, in part because most departments spent tens of thousands less than they were budgeted.“As long as we keep that mentality, (funds) will come back to general revenue,” said Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner.Answering a question about rising real estate and property taxes, Kluesner said the county government accounts for only a fraction of that revenue, and the county’s portion has remained comparatively stable.Schools, fire protection, library services and other tax levies are handled independent of the county commission. In fact, out of about two dozen separate county funds, the county commissioners only have direct control over three — general revenue, road and bridge, and capital improvements. The rest are in the hands of elected and appointed department heads, said Northern District Commissioner Dan Hampson.Wanda Thomas, a retired AT&T employee, asked commissioners how they justified raising employee salaries for the second year in a row at a faster pace than the federal cost of living adjustment.Most nonelected county employees are receiving raises of 50-70 cents per hour this year. That’s about a 3-5 percent raise for employees making $10-$15 per hour. The most recent federal cost of living adjustment was less than 1 percent.Thomas said she was concerned that the county could not sustain giving that much of a raise every year, and that doing so would be an irresponsible use of tax dollars.Kluesner replied that county employees shouldn’t expect another raise next year, but that they had gone several years without raises after the recession in 2008.“We’ve made a gallant effort to bring them up to where they should be,” Kluesner said. The commission’s understanding of how much to pay employees came in part from examining salaries in surrounding counties, he added.When pressed, the commissioners said they did not have an official document with salary comparisons to other counties.Hampson insisted the county needs to remain competitive in pay, and that the cities of Warrenton and Wright City have higher salaries for employees.“You pay your people enough to keep them from walking down the street,” Hampson said.On a separate matter, Thomas asked if any money had been budgeted for improving the county’s website. She said the site lacks useful features and people have trouble finding information, such as where to go to vote. The county’s website should be a tool for residents, especially new residents and businesses, she said.“It’s a backward website,” Thomas said. “The county is growing with people who expect this kind of thing. We need to grow with it.”Thomas said she previously worked with computers and offered to volunteer as a consultant on a website update. The commissioners agreed that she and Hampson would meet to discuss a plan. But Hampson said coordinating resources from different departments for a more unified website could be challenging.“Government is such a clumsy thing,” Hampson said. “We would have to get each department to buy in.”Also mentioned at the meeting was a looming shortfall in the county’s law enforcement fund. That’s the money that goes to the county jail and sheriff’s department. Despite a $400,000 transfer from general revenue, the law enforcement fund still includes $200,000 more in expenses than in revenue.Funds are transferred from general revenue to law enforcement every year because revenues don’t meet expenses, but Presiding Commissioner Roger Mauzy said the gap in revenue is a problem the commission is going to have to fix.A high jail population was cited as a major budget strain. The law enforcement budget includes $245,000 just to feed inmates, and another $90,000 for inmates’ medical care.Administration Building