While much of the debate that evening centered on the Ontwa sewage plant situation, the upcoming budget was also a topic of intense discussion among the Cass County Board of Commissioners during its meeting last week.

The board approved a modified version of the proposed fiscal year 2015 budget presented to the board earlier this month on Thursday, by a 6 to 1 vote. District 5 Commissioner Robert Ziliak cast the lone dissenting vote in the resolution adopting the amended budget.

Among the changes that the commissioners approved to the initial resolution was the removal of a provision that would provide increased funding to the Cass County Economic Development Commission. Commissioner Dixie Ann File presented a motion that eliminated language that would allow the county to impose a .1054 millage on county property, which was expected to raise $200,000 for the EDC.

“I won’t support the motion for the Economic Development Commission Board,” File said. “To me, that’s saying I’m on board with this, and I’m not yet. There are some things I don’t understand about it yet.”

Ziliak also stated his opposition to the resolution, primarily over concerns about a potential millage that the proposal could have paved the way for.

“I’m not voting for a millage, now or six months from now or 10 years from now,” he said.

File’s motion to strike out the language was approved by the board, in a 6 to 1 vote, with Commissioner Bernie Williamson voting against it.

The board also approved another change to the budget that would again fund an office manager position, which was initially cut from proposed budget. This amendment passed by a 5 to 2 vote.

Tina Butler, the president of the Cass County Independent Employees Association, spoke out against the cut during the public hearing the board held prior to voting on the budget.

“When a budget proposal is made with the intent to cause friction, if not litigation, between labor and management, that gives me grave concern,” Butler said. “I hope that it is concerns you all just as much.”

Ziliak supported the motion to retain the position later in the evening, claiming that the board should have received additional prior notice before any downsizing was placed on the table.

“We never ever talked about having a reduction of force at this time, and I think we should have done other things first,” he said.

Both File and Williamson voted against the amendment; with the latter expressing concern over the precedent it may create in future labor discussions.

“Is it our authority to question the decisions of the department heads with regard to the people who work for them?” Williamson said. “If we vote for this, do we set a precedent that says we can tell the sheriff what he should be doing, the judges what they should be doing, and the clerk what she should be doing?”