Strafford County executive committee sends amended $28.6 million budget recommendation to full delegation after debate over agency subsidies

Strafford County Executive Committee members voted 9-5 on Wednesday to forward the committee's proposed $28,604,070 county budget to the full delegation after approving a small amendment and rejecting a broader cut to nonprofit contracts.

The committee adopted a subcommittee recommendation to add $12,730 to the corrections clothing line to provide replacement clothing for people in custody. The amendment passed on a 9-5 roll call and was moved by Representative Hall and seconded by Representative Oregon. The committee then voted 9-5 to approve the full budget recommendation as amended and send it on to the county delegation for final action.

Why it matters: The votes lock in the executive committee's recommended spending plan and a targeted increase for the jail clothing line while rejecting a larger cut that would have removed county support for three nonprofit providers. The decisions affect services for seniors, people with disabilities and people involved in community corrections, and they set what the full delegation will consider during the public budget process.

The action came after an extended discussion about three county-funded nonprofit contracts'Meals on Wheels, Easterseals and Coast Transportation'and whether the county should continue those subsidies in light of the groups' reported fund balances. Representative Schmidt, who pressed the point, said the financial statements he reviewed…