Petrovich gives February report

Whitman County Administrative Director Gary Petrovich gave his monthly budget report for February to county commissioners Monday.

He reported on the general fund/current expense category of the 2018 county budget, noting the largest category in the general fund – salaries, wages and benefits – from which a total of $723,000 was spent in February.

The total budgeted current expense for the year is $9,277,000.

Total expenditures for February were $956,411, which encompasses the general fund’s 23 departments – ranging from facilities management to parks and recreation and weed control.

In revenue receipts for February, the county brought in $344,580 in property and retail sales tax.

Much of county property tax is collected in April and October before deadlines. For last month revenue was $636,0000.

Monday’s report was the second of monthly updates begun by Petrovich to aid in the yearly county budget process.

“Once we get a full year behind us, with the monthly reports, we can do comparable periods from the prior year,” Petrovich told the Gazette. “If something’s way out of whack, you can track it, whether it’s a coding problem or a spending problem.”