The Sheriff’s Office requested an additional $25,000 in funding to its 2011-2012 budget for meth lab cleanup that was previously paid for by the federal government.

“The federal government was paying for it, they spent something like $300 million just on meth lab cleanup and the money ran out,” Arnold said.

Arnold also explained to the committee that when a meth lab is found, it has to be quarantined and all chemicals have to be broken down and disposed of properly.

Commissioner Steve Sandlin was particularly distraught over county taxpayers being responsible for the cleanup.

“We have to clean it up, county tax payers have to clean it up and we don’t have any recourse back onto these people,” Sandlin said.

The Sheriff’s Department will also be purchasing some new vehicles this year. The department requested a $64,000 increase from last year’s budget to purchase vans for transport and police cars.

Arnold told the committee that this was the last year Ford would be making the Crown Victoria, which is popular as a police car because of its rear wheel drive. The sheriff would like to purchase 10 Crown Victorias before they are no longer available.

The Sheriff’s Office was among many county agencies who were in attendance to discuss projected funding for the 2011-2012 fiscal year this week.

The total budget exceeds $427 million and is expected to maintain the current property tax rate of $2.4652 per $100 of assessed value.

Drug court will be implementing a new program for low risk offenders that is believed to generate revenue for the department.

The Less Intensive Outpatient Program is a 10-week class that will be court ordered to individuals considered low risk who are involved in alcohol and drug related offenses.

Individuals court ordered to the class will have to pay for it.

The program, combined with DUI school, is projected to generate $60,000 per year in revenue for the department, Director Mary Schneider told the committee.

Circuit Court sought additional funding to make improvements in the access of data. The court is trying to put records in a database that would allow people to access information much more quickly.

The estimated cost of archiving records would be $100,000.

Use of the online database would be fee based, but the records would be available for free in the office of the circuit court.

The department pointed out that its current software is from 1989.

The Volunteer Fire Department sought funding from the county.

The mayor’s recommendation was only $25,000, however most of the operating budget for the volunteers comes from fundraising done themselves.

“I wish we had enough money to give you even more because you’re the only game out there. The people out there depend on the volunteers,” Commissioner Will Jordan spoke to the volunteers.

Rutherford County will have to pay the City of Murfreesboro about $1.2 million dollars over the next 18 months.

Many businesses in Murfreesboro reported to the department of revenue under the county’s identifier instead of the city.

Because of the mistake, more than $68,000 in rural sales tax each month will go to pay back Murfreesboro for its loss.

Sixty percent of the solid waste department’s operating budget comes from rural sales tax. The loss is expected to effect that department in the upcoming year.

The Budget Committee will meet at the school board central office May 24 at 5:30 p.m. to continue work on the 2011-2012 budget.