WARREN — The Trumbull County commissioners on Wednesday worked to reduce nearly $15 million from budget requests made by the county’s general fund departments, so it will have a balanced 2025 budget.

County officials in 28 general-fund departments at the end of last year made more than $81.5 million in budget requests. The county’s projected 2025 budget is about $66 million.

In the second meeting discussing the budget this year, Commissioner Denny Malloy described cutting approximately $8 million from the budget requests. Approximately $4 million in cuts came from areas identified under the commissioners’ own budget.

The commissioners budget request originally was $15.6 million.

“We are asking other departments to reduce their requests, so we have to lead by example,” Malloy said. “We trimmed the sheriff’s budget to about $20 million, which is less than the new sheriff (Mike Wilson) was seeking, but an increase over the amount allotted to the department in 2024.”

Malloy noted the commissioners want to provide Wilson with what he wants, while simultaneously balancing the budget.

CSEA, which is a nongeneral fund department, requested a $600,000 budget. However, it was suggested it could operate at approximately $225,000.

“I would say give them what they can operate on,” Malloy said. “I say give them $250,000.”

Commissioner Tony Bernard added the commissioners should cut as much as they can without harming the departments.

The Trumbull Dog Warden requested $260,000 for 2025.

It had about $21,000 in encumbrances from 2024.

“I would say give them $240,000,” Malloy said.

Trumbull 911 Emergency is asking for $2.7 million, Christy Sostaric of the Trumbull Auditor’s office noted.

“They began this year with $1.2 million in cash and $3 25,000 in carry-over encumbrances, estimated revenue of $4 million,” Sostaric said.

The county is aiming to increase the number of employees within Trumbull 911, which will reduce the amount of overtime it will have to pay with the increase in manpower. The county is seeking to increase the size of Trumbull 911 from 22 employees to 40.

“I think we should give them $2.5 million,” Malloy said.

The Trumbull County Treasurer’s Office requested $1,326,614 for 2025. Its 2024 budget was $1,042,043.

While Malloy suggested providing it with the same amount as 2024, Human Resources Director Alexandra DeVengencie-Bush said they must consider contracted wage and medical increases that must be added to future budgets.

“They budgeted realistically,” she said. “They were very, very conservative.”

Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder defended her request of more than $4.2 million from $3.3 million in 2024.

“We are taking in more salary from our office from other general funds,” she said. “We add to the general fund. We are the pay masters and the fiscal managers for the entire county. We do a lot of training for new public officials.”

There are things the auditor’s office has not been charging for, she noted.

Yoder described the department having to pay in 2025 three positions that currently are being paid for using Human Resources funds. They also will have to pay for employees in the tax map department.

“We can’t operate at $3.3 million,” Sostaric said.

The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office is seeking about $4.4 million. It received about $3.5 million in 2024.

Both the recorder and the coroner offices are seeking increases representing the amounts they will have to pay in contracts.

The sheriff is seeking $20.8 million. The department spent $18.5 million in 2024.

Malloy suggests providing $19.5 million, which is more than a million less than requested, but a million more than what they received in 2024.

“We know we are going to do things to take care of them down the road,” he said. “We know they have major big issues. We know they are going to be a problem child we are going to carry along until we get things rectified over a one-, two-, three-year period with a new administration.

“We know they will be running short. They will be able to come back to us later in the year.”

Mark Manning, the sheriff department’s chief financial officer, suggested the department needs more officers on the road and more correction officers in the jail. He said they also need new vehicles.

Yoder said there is a difference from capital budget versus operational expenses.

“I have not had any trustees come to us (commissioners) saying they don’t have enough officers out there,” Malloy said.

Hernandez suggested keeping the amount to $20 million, which keeps the department to about 20 percent of the whole budget.

The Board of Elections is seeking $1,071,323.

“I was looking at $1.6 million,” Commissioner Rick Hernandez said. “If we did $1.75 million, it will be a big cut.”

Malloy said they can send a board member to justify their request.

He reminded the other commissioners that Trumbull has the lowest sales tax of any county in northeast Ohio.

“One thing that solves all of this, and I am not saying I want this, I’m just throwing it out there,” Malloy said. “If we just raise the sales tax a quarter-percent it will bring in $7 million.”

“It will give the sheriff everything he wants and build our 911 center, if we earmarked it for just safety services at that percentage.”

Sostaric said it would be, conservatively, closer to $8 million.

Hernandez said nobody wants to do that.

“These are things that cans have been kicked down the road for years,” he said. “People have said it is a great thing we never raised our sales tax.

“We have lost services, the dog pound, the coroner office and 911 center. We don’t want to cost our residents with levies.”

Bernard said the county has to show it has been accountable and it is doing everything it can to reduce spending.

“We have not done that yet,” he said. “They are used to seeing waste in the government. It will be painful.”

Bernard asked who has been responsible for where the county is currently.

“It is not this board,” he said. “It is the past two boards. I’m not going to take the hit for them.”

The commissioners are expected to meet again next Wednesday afternoon to continue budget discussions.