Budget-wise the Lawrence County Commissioners are calling 2011 a pivotal year as the county gets back on track fiscally on the eve of entering an unknown realm in starting up its new emergency medical services.

At its Tuesday meeting commissioners approved a $13,614,535 budget for the upcoming year, which is approximately a million dollars less than the 2010 budget.

“It is probably starting out in a better position than we have before,” Commissioner Jason Stephens said. “We have an (estimated year-end) carry over of $880,000 (for 2012). It would have been higher but for the ambulance service (starting up) and getting ahead on some bills.”

Only half of the $425,000 carryover from 2010 has been put in the budget as commissioners stated in the budget commentary their goal is to continue to be conservative about revenue.

Except for the sheriff’s road deputies, there was a 7.5 percent reduction in salary line items and zero appropriations for many office supply line items since often these expenses are already subsidized by the officeholders’ funds.

With the dissolution of the Southeast Ohio Emergency Medical Services, the county was forced to create the Lawrence County Emergency Medical Services. Revenues may not be immediately forthcoming as the EMS waits to get its Medicare and Medicaid insurance numbers. Without those, the service cannot bill customers. To cover those start-up costs the county put an extra $300,000 in the budget to be added to revenue anticipation notes of up to $600,000 that will be issued next year.

“Once the EMS is rolling it could save money for the general fund,” the commissioner said.

Those funds will go toward covering expenses including the first payroll to be distributed on Jan. 21.

A concern for the commissioners is the massive $8 billion deficit in the state’s budget that could bring an end to the Local Government Funds to counties. Lawrence County gets $975,000 from the state starting in July, which is the beginning of the state’s fiscal year.

However with the deficit crisis, it is not known if the county will get those funds in July of 2011.

“There is some talk that Local Government Funds would be easy to get (to eliminate part of the deficit),” Commissioner Les Boggs said.

Thus, the budget was drafted without the expectation of receiving those funds.

During the meeting Stephens was critical of the Board of Elections citing what he says are an excessive number of precincts in the county. That has led to $20,000 worth of bills from the November election not covered in the 2010 appropriation, he said.

“In 2011, we’d save $12,500 if they eliminated precincts in the county,” he said.

Vice chairman Craig Allen said Stephens would be welcome to speak to the board of elections.

“If he would like to come to the election board and present his position, we would listen to what he has to say,” Allen said.