Wood County Board Chairman Lance Pimolin said in a WFHR radio interview on Oct. 22 that the county’s annual budget is about $157 million, with roughly $35 million funded by property taxes.

Pimolin described much of the $157 million as "pass-through money" from federal and state programs that are already allocated to mandated services. He said the roughly $35 million in property-tax revenue supports local programs such as law enforcement and the highway department.

Discussing capital projects, Pimolin said the county is replacing piping at the Northwood County Annex in a project he described as a $4 million undertaking to address possible contamination linked to aging infrastructure. He also referenced a recently built jail, using a rounded figure of $100 million while noting "it's not quite that much, but that's that's a round number." He said the new jail is expected to save the county about $30 million over 20 years compared with continuing to use the old facility.

Pimolin said the county’s mill rate declined from 4.65 to 4.39 this year. On borrowing, he described the county’s approach as preferring to finance major projects when needed rather than maintaining large reserves to pre-fund them.

Pimolin and the host discussed a planned project at Edgewater nursing home intended to increase revenue and reduce long-term taxpayer impact; he said that project will have an initial cost but is expected to be beneficial over a 10-year horizon. No formal budget votes or specific appropriations were taken during the interview; Pimolin said the county budget document was due to be published the following day.