Knox County budget committee gives preliminary approval to 2025 budget amid staffing and reserve concerns

Knox County’s joint budget committee and county commission gave preliminary approval to the proposed 2025 county budget on Oct. 31, after hearing departmental presentations and debating the impact of rising personnel costs, shifting technology budgets and declining federal grant support.

The vote followed a night of departmental reviews and procedural business, including elections of budget committee officers and a motion to table an appointment to District 8. The chair opened and closed a public hearing on the budget after no members of the public spoke.

Why it matters: committee members said rising wages, insurance and mandated benefits are the main drivers of the county’s increase in personnel costs, while reductions in federal grant funding have pushed some operating expenses onto the county. Airport security and the end of CARES Act support were highlighted as areas where local taxpayers may face new costs unless federal funding returns.

What the committee heard: a spokesperson for the county’s public-safety budgets described two primary wage drivers: the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners used locally (CPI-W) at about 2.9% and a standard 2% step increase for many employees, which together amount to roughly a 4.9% personnel cost pressure per eligible employee. Health insurance and workers’ compensation were each projected to rise by about 10%, and a new state family medical leave requirement was estimated to add roughly 1% in employer costs.

Departments and…