County budget passed at $22.5 million

TIFFIN — The Seneca County Commissioner board recently voted to approve the 2025 budget certified at $22.5 million. The approved budget includes a 2% increase in wages for county employees, with the board absorbing 15% of an 18% increase in the cost of employee health insurance. In 2024, the county budget was certified at $21.8 million, also including a 2% increase in employee salaries and absorbing an 11% increase in health insurance costs. The commissioners' budget is $415,407.13 which is roughly $23,440.00 less than last year with the largest portion coming in at $221,418.000 for the combined salaries of all three commissioners. The second largest portion is commissioners' office employee salaries of $134,456.52. The third highest portion of the commissioners' budget is $49,822.43 allocated to the public employee retirement fund or PERS. The county jail budget is $4,519,180.08 with the largest portion being $3,218,133.55 for employee salaries and the second largest portion of 475,764.62 for PERS. The jail budget accounts for the largest part of the overall county budget. The Seneca County Sheriff's Office budget is $3,011,310.16 in 2025. The largest portion of the budget, approximately $2.1 million, will be used for Sheriff's Office employee salaries with the second largest portion of $385,762.07 going to the public employee retirement fund. Sheriff Fred Stevens' salary comes in at $83,177.00. The county prosecutor has a budget of $948,961.34. Of that, $592,952.48 will go towards employee salaries. Prosecutor Derek Devine's salary is $128,581.00. A total of $104,862.59 is allocated to public employee retirement. The youth center budget is $862,340.27 with employee salaries being the biggest portion at $581,585.33 with attorney fees coming in at $140,000.00 and employee retirement following closely at $81,421.95. Common Pleas Court I has a budget of $176,663.20. The largest part of that budget is for employee salaries at $124,919.28 and a retirement budget of $24,321.81. Common Pleas Court II has a budget of $166,831.73. The largest portion is employee salaries of $122,206.81. A total of $18,496.70 is allocated towards employee retirement. County Judges Damon Alt (Common Pleas Court I), Steve Shuff (Common Pleas Court II) and Jay Meyer (Juvenile Court) will each make $9,912.42 in salaries in 2025. A December 2023 article reviewing the 2024 budget from The Advertiser-Tribune reports "According to the Ohio Supreme Court, the state has a base share of judge's pay, with the local share being based on population. The local share cannot be less than $3,500 or more than $14,000. State share is determined by deducting the local share from the total salary."