PROVO — It took some whittling and even a little dipping, but Utah County's 2006 budget is balanced.

Utah County commissioners unanimously approved the $62.2 million budget that will take effect on Jan. 1 and run through Dec. 31, 2006.

And good news, Utah County residents: It doesn't call for any tax increases.

The initial budget proposal presented Nov. 6 to the Utah County Commission by Clerk/Auditor Kim Jackson listed expenditures exceeding revenues by $4.7 million. During a month's worth of meetings between Jackson, county commissioners and department heads, all but $2.45 million of that shortfall was accounted for either through additional revenue sources or cutbacks.

To make up the difference, the commission opted to dip into the county's surplus fund balance.

Minor cuts across the board allowed the commission to balance the budget without eliminating any existing programs, said Commission Chairman Jerry Grover.

"For the most part, it was just little reductions all over the place," Grover said. "We asked departments to whittle down what they could, and that's what most of them did. It was mostly that they just didn't get the increases they wanted in certain programs that they were wanting to expand."

One of the more significant cuts was the $250,000 taken from the $1.14 million budgeted for elections.

Jackson included in the proposed budget funds to cover the costs associated with changes the state Legislature is considering making to the Utah election code to allow for early voting. Such changes would permit voters to vote up to two weeks before Election Day.

"We decided not to include it until the Legislature actually approves it," Grover said.

A near $15 million chunk of the 2006 budget is locked up by the county jail, covering expenditures such as housing, support services and programs.

On the revenue side, property taxes are expected to generate $13.3 million in 2006 — up from $12.9 million in 2005. The additional money is expected to come from continuing commercial and residential development in the county.

The county's 2005 budget, after a midyear adjustment, totaled $66.8 million.

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