The Miami County commissioners Dec. 22 approved the county’s 2016 budget including $30 million in general fund appropriations, a 3.8 percent increase over 2015.

The commissioners said the increase was attributed to inflation, a full year of operating two prisoner pods at the county Incarceration Facility (IF) and the planned opening of a third pod to house female prisoners next spring.

The 3.8 percent increase in general fund appropriations “is coming from normal, customary inflationary increases of running a county this size and also for appropriating and planning for the opening of the third pod at the Incarceration Facility,” Commissioner John “Bud” O’Brien said.

The overall county appropriations for 2016 total $96.977 million. The general fund revenues are projected at $24.6 million with the commission projecting a year end balance at $28.5 million. The commissioners noted the revenue projection is a “very conservative” figure.

Commission President Jack Evans said the general fund appropriations usually exceed the conservatively projected income but added commissioners “don’t expect to spend all of that.”

“If the state doesn’t cut us anymore and sales tax continues to be strong we should make that number,” Evans said of the projected balance.

Commissioner Richard Cultice said he thinks the county is “in a very good financial position.”

“We have been able to do a lot of things we were not able to do in prior years because of the down economy,” Cultice said pointing to a number of capital project made in a “catch up mode” during the past couple years.

With that spending the county is “getting back to where things should be,” he said.

The expenses associated with the third IF pod opening include hiring four new correction officers. Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dave Duchak said he was told the overall increase in the sheriff’s office budget for 2016 is 2.8 percent, which includes 2 percent for negotiated employee wages.

In opening the third pod, the county will no longer pay Shelby County to house up to 15 female prisoners a day at a cost of $55 daily. The county has been paying to house extra female prisoners in Shelby County since August 2014. The cost for that housing was around $300,000 a year.

The housing agreement will continue until the IF is ready to open, which is projected in the spring.

All three commissioners thanked other elected officials and department heads for working to maintain control over spending.