The Chilton County Commission has approved a balanced budget of about $15.5 million with the hope that more money could arrive in March 2013.

Commission Chairman Tim Mims said there is a good possibility more money than expected could be coming, but the commission would like to see the money prior to counting on it.

“Chilton County Tax Assessor Rex Cleckler told us there will be more revenue coming in than what we originally anticipated,” Mims said. “If that is the case, then we will revise the budget and give more money to every department.”

Mims said every department within the county asked for more money this year and though the commission wanted to give each department more, there was no way to make it happen.

“I wish the commission could give more money to the sheriff’s department and the Chilton County Humane Society,” Mims said. “I would love to also give the county employees an across-the-board pay raise, but that is just something we can’t afford to do right now.”

Sheriff Kevin Davis said a common misconception for a lot of people with the county budget is thinking the sheriff’s department drains the majority of funds.

“I hear a lot of people say the sheriff’s department takes a lot of the budget, and that is simply not true,” Davis said. “I requested $445,500 more than what we were given with the last budget mainly due to the cost of gas and other things going up.”

Davis said with no increase in funding for the sheriff’s department, it is hard to maintain services from his employees who are not receiving any pay increases.

“I have been the sheriff for six years, and during my time, I have never given one of my deputy sheriffs a pay raise,” Davis said.

Mims said it has been several years since the commission was able to give an across-the-board pay raise.

Although many will have to wait until March to find out whether they will receive more funding, Mims pointed out that during the commission’s current tenure, the commission has not borrowed money to pay bills.

“Chilton County has a wonderful commission that works for the people of the county,” Mims said. “I am pleased with how everything turned out in terms of the budget because there have been previous years when that was not the case.”