Beth Leisure laid the 2027 budgeting groundwork during Wayne County Council’s April 1 finance committee meeting, and it was not an April Fools’ Day joke.
“Just another reminder: Anything you can cut, you need to cut,” Leisure said to county department heads. “Don’t be coming to us with a bunch more requests for more employees and more money for this and that,” Leisure said, “because this year is going to be way different from last year.”
Department heads have until May 31 to enter their requested budgets in the county’s budgeting system. Council will then have its full-day budget meeting July 15.
During the finance committee meeting, council members unanimously approved providing $150,000 from its one-time money to help the highway department purchase a $431,251 chipper box.
The chipper box is used to apply tar, then gravel to the roadway, a cheaper solution than repaving. Mike Sharp, the county’s highway supervisor, said the box is wider, so workers will need fewer passes to cover each road.
During personnel committee, Adam McQueen, the county’s chief probation officer, and Jennifer Romack, director of community corrections, made council aware that they will request a part-time bookkeeper position be returned to full time.
It was made part time to accommodate a valued employee who now plans to retire this year. The position has been fully funded by a Department of Corrections grant; however, grant awards for this year will be June 26. Council asked to revisit the request after the grant award is known. Romack said there are some options to fund part of the position, if necessary.
A version of this article appeared in the April 8 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.