Butler County residents are not facing the prospect of a property tax hike.

The proposed 2017 budget of $160.5 million does not call for a tax increase.

Scott Andrejchak, chief county clerk, presented the spending plan at the commissioners' meeting Wednesday.

“I want to stress it is realistically balanced,” he said.

Andrejchak said expenses are budgeted to rise only 0.47 percent, or $292,249.

“We're not inflating expenses next year,” he said.

However, Andrejchak said the 2017 budget does not eliminate any programs to cut costs.

“There's no reduction in service levels next year,” he said.

Andrejchak said the county mitigated costs for 2017 through various steps, including the elimination of unfilled posts, budgeting actual costs and enhancing efficiency in such areas as print management.

There also is a 30-percent reduction in travel expenses and the implementation of a health reimbursement account (HRA), a self-funded plan, to reduce the increase in health care costs.

Despite minimal increase in costs, the budget is a roughly $10 million jump from this year's $150.6 million. Andrejchak cited a projected increase in debt service pushing the total number higher.

County Commissioner Leslie Osche, board chairman, said the spending plan paints an accurate fiscal picture.

“We're finally clear where we are,” Osche said. “It's tight. There's not a lot of wiggle room.”

Commissioner Kim Geyer also was satisfied.

“It was a very understandable budget,” Geyer said in an interview. “I think it's a step in the right direction moving forward.”

Commissioner Kevin Boozel also liked what he saw.

“Nobody wants to see a tax increase,” Boozel said in an interview. “We need to control costs as long as possible.”

Under the proposed budget, employee costs total nearly $35 million, divided into $22.7 million for salaries and $11.9 million for benefits.

Among the larger increases in 2017 will be more than $1 million for increased debt service, $1 million for contractual wage increases and $1 million for a retirement contribution increase into the pension fund.

Health care cost increases are projected at $350,000.

Adrejchak said that number would have been $290,204 higher — or a 9 percent increase instead of the budgeted 4.9 percent increase — had the county not switched to an HRA.

Of a budgeted $722,518 contingency, $380,000 is allotted for the first payment of new debt incurred by buying a new county emergency services radio system, $250,000 for nonunion worker across-the-board pay hikes and salary adjustments for particular posts with the remaining $92,518 reserved for unforeseen expenses.

The budget keeps the tax rate at 27.628 mills. A mill generates $1 in tax revenue for each $1,000 of a property's assessed value.

Most of the tax rate — 21.59 mills — is allotted for general use. Debt service receives 3.1 mills. Butler County Community College gets 2.93 mills, or more than $5 million.

After the college, the next highest contribution would be $275,000 for the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, $250,000 for the Butler Federated Library System and $185,695 for the AG (Agricultural) Extension.

Before the budget presentation, the commissioners approved borrowing $7 million from NexTier Bank.

The tax anticipation note, which has a 0.94 percent interest rate, would be used to pay expenses in the early part of 2017 until tax revenue is collected.

The commissioners are set to adopt a 2017 budget at the Dec. 28 meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. in the public meeting room of the county government center.

Only county staff and the media attended the budget presentation.

Osche asked residents to attend the Dec. 21 agenda-setting meeting to express their views on the proposed budget or call the commissioners office.

“We encourage the public to make comments,” she said.