MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio - Mahoning county commissioners approved the 2017 budget appropriations on Thursday, but will be keeping a concerned eye on tax developments in Columbus.

Commissioners say the new budget is pretty much level - with no significant increases or cutbacks. The general fund is at $34 million for the courts and central government operations. While the Justice fund is $28 million for the sheriff, prosecutor, coroner and 911.
"So basically we were able to pretty much get everybody where the need to be. We had to make some adjustments in order to balance, but overall we are level," said Audrey Tillis of the office of Management and Budget.  The Auditor says the county will be watching a tax issue in Columbus.
 
Federal regulators have stopped Ohio from charging sales tax on Medicaid managed-care organizations, which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds. 
County auditor Ralph Meacham says so far no one in Columbus has a concrete solution to fill that deficit. "I hope they think outside the box. It would be 9-point-6 percent of our budget in 2017 and that affects all the counties in the state," Meacham said.
Courthouse renovations are continuing and are in good shape financially.  "Everything has come in under budget and  it's been on time. Now we're getting some bad weather so we're hoping that we can work through that,  but so far it's been on schedule," said Commissioner Anthony Traficanti.