WARREN — Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder on Tuesday asked commissioners to provide her office guidelines on how much it wants each county department to have for its 2025 budgets.

Yoder’s office was expected to provide the commissioners with summaries and narratives of the budget requests from each county department by the end of the week.

“We would like to get with you to sit down and go over the requests to determine where you are at with these requests,” Yoder said. “We want you guys to decide where you want the money to go generally. We will show you what money we have and what people want. I will tell you there is a large variance.”

Budgets for county departments are expected to be assigned by the end of the first quarter of the year. The commissioners received budget requests from department heads prior to the end of 2024.

The auditor’s office is now asking commissioners to indicate what percentage of the total general fund county budget each department will receive.

By providing each department with at least a percentage of the budget they will receive, the department heads will be able to determine how to best use the money, Yoder said.

Newly elected Commissioner Tony Bernard questioned whether the commissioners will receive both the anticipated revenues for 2025 as well as how money was used in 2024 and 2023, so they can compare.

“We have a lot of that already,” Yoder said.

Trumbull County 911 Director Tacy McDonough told the commissioners that her department last year received its first increase in a long time.

“Do not make cuts in our budget,” she said.

The department has 18 dispatchers and is training four additional dispatchers. It is a department that, based on size and service area, is supposed to have between 35 and 40 dispatchers.

In addition to maintaining and increasing staffing levels, McDonough said it is important for the commissioners to provide her with an idea of the projected 2025 budget, so she will be able to plan on how much she has to hire a consultant for the 911 center’s expected move to a new location.

The 911 center is looking to move from its location near Insight Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland to one of several locations identified last year, which include the new Trumbull County Combined Health Department site in Cortland, the basement of the Warren Police Department, a former fire station near the Trumbull County Fairgrounds and building a site near the county engineer building on Sferra Avenue.

McDonough said the health department offered to allow the county to use the second floor of its site for no monthly rent.

However, the 911 center would have to pay utilities and whatever renovation costs are required.

Shewß noted early estimates would require the county to pay approximately $1 million for renovation costs, not including needed tech equipment. It also does not include the cost of building a cell tower and / or ways to transmit signals using existing towers.

The department spent approximately $45,000 last year purchasing needed computer equipment that could not wait until the center moved to a new location.

Trumbull County Commissioner Denny Malloy emphasized the money for a new 911 center, along with funds needed for a new dog pound and a new coroner’s office, will be discussed this year. However, he said these discussions are separate from the general fund budget decisions that will need to be made.

“These are capital improvement projects,” he said.

The commissioners are expected to discuss the budget allocation at their regular meeting Wednesday.