Butler County’s proposed budget for 2016 is balanced with a tax increase and money from operating reserves, but nearly all surrounding counties that had to balance their budgets only used one or the other.

The 2016 general fund budget for Butler is $61.7 million. It has a $4.4 million deficit that is proposed to be filled in with $3.3 million from the county’s operating reserves and a 3-mill property tax increase, a roughly 12 percent increase.

The tax increase would add $65 to the average homeowner’s tax bill. The total tax rate would be 27.6 mills. A mill generates $1 in tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.

The $3.3 million taken from operating reserves will leave the county with no reserves at the end of 2016. The county is projected to end this year with nothing in its reserves as well.

Recently, the county allowed for the general fund use of the $1.2 million that was in the reserve fund to get through the end of the year.

Commissioners will vote on the budget Wednesday.

Here is a look at how other counties near Butler, which has about 186,000 people, are handling their 2016 budgets.

Westmoreland County

Westmoreland County, which has a population of 365,169, took nearly $5 million out of its operating reserves to balance its budget.

The 2016 general fund budget, which commissioners approved Dec. 17, is $120.2 million with a tax rate of 20.99 mills.

“There’s no tax increase in the 2016 budget,” said Meghan McCandless, director of financial administration.

With $4.9 million taken out of the reserves to balance the budget, the total amount of unrestricted reserves is about $21 million.

McCandless said the deficit for 2016 is in line with the deficit the county has had for the past few years. For the 2015 budget, McCandless said the commissioners took $5.9 million from the reserves to balance the budget.

“It’s just continually increasing costs, and unfortunately the revenues are holding steady or decreasing,” McCandless said.

If the county commissioners continue to take money out of the reserves, she said it will get to a point where they will have to increase taxes to close budget gaps and refill the reserves. The last time the county raised taxes was in 2005.

Armstrong County

Armstrong County, with a population of 68,941, had a 1.5-mill tax increase for 2016. This amounts to an 8 percent increase, adding $37.50 to the average tax bill.

The commissioners there a couple weeks ago approved a $21.3 million general fund budget with a tax rate of 19 mills. Before the tax increase, financial director Jen Long said there was a $1.1 million deficit.

Long said the county has had increases in spending on salaries and benefits, particularly health care.

“I think it’s hitting everyone,” Long said.

The county has a $1.1 million operating reserve. Long said the county used some of the reserves to balance the budget for 2015, but said the county was able to put the same amount of money back in.

“I think that’s been holding pretty steady,” Long said.

Lawrence County

Lawrence County, population 91,108, likely will see a 4.5 percent tax hike — an increase of only 0.3 mill.

Jim Gagliano, county administrator, said this would amount to $22 extra on the average tax bill. The current tax rate is 6.698 mills.

The county has a proposed $30 million general fund budget for 2016, but it has not been approved yet.

Gagliano said the reasons for the increase are the growing cost of health care and the county wanting to contribute more to its county library system.

“We have been able to maintain for the most part,” Gagliano said.

In addition to the tax increase, the county will use about $300,000 of its operating reserves to balance the budget. Gagliano said the reserves total about $3 million, and he said the county has not had to use any of that money for a few years.

Venango County

Venango County with a population of 54,984 did not raise its tax rate, but did use a chunk of its reserve funding to balance the budget in 2016.

Commissioners approved a $19.9 million general fund budget with a tax rate of 6 mills. The county had to use about $2 million from its reserves to balance the budget.

“We had to work to balance it,” said Diona Brick, director of finance management and fiscal agent services.

She said county salaries are going up 2.75 percent next year, and health care costs are going up about 5 percent.

With $2 million taken out, Brick said the reserves have about $2.2 million remaining. Last year, she said the county used about $1.6 million from the reserves to balance the 2015 budget, but during this year, the county was able to put $1.8 million into the reserves.

Helping the situation, Brick said the county sold its nursing home this year, and is expecting a final payment totaling $2 million from the sale in January. She said some of the money will be used for capital expenses and the rest will go in the fund balance.

Mercer County

Mercer County, population 116,638, does not have a tax increase in its 2016 budget.

The general fund revenues and expenditures are about $30.7 million. John Logan, fiscal administrator, said the budget is balanced within roughly $500.

Taxes remain level at 24.4 mills, with 22.5 mills going to the general fund and 1.9 mills going to debt service.

The county’s reserve funding is about $3.8 million. Logan said the county has only been putting in a few thousand dollars in the fund each year, but the county has not taken any money out of it, either.

“That’s been pretty flat,” Logan said.

Allegheny County

Allegheny County also did not raise taxes.

The county council on Dec. 1 approved a general fund budget of $736.6 million with a tax rate of 4.73 mills.

Allegheny’s unassigned fund balance is $38.2 million, according to county spokesman Amie Downs. She said none of that money was used to balance the budget.

The county’s population is 1.2 million.

Other counties

Beaver County’s tax rate is going to hold steady at 22.2 mills, and the general fund budget for 2016 is $77.3 million, according to the county’s website.

Vince LaValle, chief of staff for the county commissioners, did not return calls. The county’s population is 170,539.

Budget information for Clarion County was not available. Carol Clinger, chief clerk, did not respond to requests for comment.