Natrona County Commission Approves $59.3M Budget for 2023-2024

The Natrona County Commission on Monday approved a $59.3 million budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

No one spoke for or against the budget during the public comment period.

Public safety remains the top expense for Natrona County, according to the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget approved by the Natrona County Commission on Monday.

The Natrona County Detention Center is the single largest line item, at $10,568,957, in the category labeled "law and order."

That expense is about half the total for law enforcement which includes the County Sheriff's Office - administration and patrol at $6,561,642; emergency management at $364,366; juvenile detention at $114,000; and security at the Townsend Justice Center at $1,432,382.

Other "law and order" line items are for the contract for Day Reporting, the misdemeanant housing contract, 911 monthly costs, and the Detention Center expansion principal/interest payment.

All that falls under the budget for the Sheriff's Office.

While the sheriff is one of the six countywide elected offices, its budget is separate from the budgets of the other five countywide elected offices, the county commissioners and other departments in the General Operations category.

Proposed expenditures for the other offices in the General Operations category include:

• The five-member County Commission -- $300,759.
• County Clerk -- $2,072,249.
• County Treasurer -- $1,320,100.
• County Assessor -- $1,592, 104.
• Clerk of District Court -- $2,507,069.
• Coroner -- $635,027.

Other large allocations include:

• Road and Bridge Department -- $3,414,362.
• Building maintenance -- $2,989,962.
• Capital expenditures -- $1,104,585.
• Child support enforcement -- $1,093,138.
• County development -- $956,809.
• County Fair -- $1,171,940.
• County Library -- $2,748,896.
• Contracts and services -- $1,933,142.
• Information Technology -- $2,161,029.

Commission Chairman Steve Freel said after the meeting that the major sources of county revenues are property taxes and sales and use taxes.

The Lake Fund revenues are restricted. They come from the fees collected by the county at the reservoirs for the leasing of trailer spaces, cabins, the Marina, the boat club and boat slips. According to the agreement of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation -- the owner of the reservoirs -- with Natrona County, the county must use those revenues only for improvements in the areas around the reservoir.