FARMINGTON – Franklin County commissioners will hold a public hearing Dec. 7 on a $1.16 million spending plan for the unorganized territory in 2016-17. The proposal is $18,988 less than the current budget.

The hearing is at 9 a.m. in the commissioners’ office at the Franklin County courthouse.

Commissioners are required to approve the budget by Dec. 31 and send it to the state for approval. If accepted, it would go into effect July 1, 2016.

The snow removal account is $407,266, which is $26,079 less than the current budget. It covers work in Madrid, Langtown, Washington, Perkins, Freeman and Salem townships.

Waste disposal is also down, from $137,608 to $123,780. Fire protection is up slightly by $889, to $111,443. NorthStar EMS ambulance subsidy is proposed at $59,402, which is $538 less than this year’s budget.

The tax assessment for the unorganized territory for the proposed spending package would be $998,235, according to county Clerk Julie Magoon’s information.

It is well below the spending cap, Magoon told commissioners Nov. 16.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net