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With District No. 6 Commissioner Diana Needham absent, commissioners voted 6-0 to approve the budget, which county Controller Frank Wright said had no changes from that which was originally presented to commissioners.

The budget is pegged at $6,940,635. The only change in the spending plan is the reduction of hours for the county recycling personnel and the animal control department.

The recycling facility, located on Island Lake Road, will still be open, but the hours are lessened until after an election is held. Voters in the November general election turned down a renewal request for both issues, causing the decision to curtail hours.

The full-time recycling employee is also working part-time with the countyÕs Department of Public Works in a maintenance capacity, while the animal control officer has assumed a position within the sheriff department.

In other business, commissioners approved the third of a four-year rate increase request for the countyÕs construction codes department. ÒWe agreed to raise the rates four percent a year for each of the next four years,Ó District No. 7 Commissioner Craig Wood said. ÒThis is the third year.Ó

Most of the increases will only cover about $1 or $2 for each of the permits, Wood said.

District No. 2 Commissioner Gerald Gancer asked where Kalkaska County stood in terms of the rates with neighboring counties, ÒAt one time we had a comparison and we were low,Ó board chairman and District No. 3 Commissioner Mike Cox said. ÒWe are not trying to kind of be getting in line and we have not had an increase in a number of years.Ó

Wright said the countyÕs fees were still low in comparison, but with the step increases they were trying to get them closer to those of the surrounding area. Commissioners also heard county Clerk Patricia Rodgers indicate she expected to request some items for her office from the capital outlay budget.

Items under consideration are a new county seal for the courts, which Rodgers indicated has been ÒbabiedÓ along for a number of years and some items for the new computer, which has been earmarked for election use.