The Pearl River County Board of Supervisors approved the budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

Tuesday, the board set the county’s budget for $27 million, a decrease from last year’s $28.7 million. The general fund budget was approved for $16,299,278. That’s slightly lower than the $17,717,956 requested by various county departments but an increase from the $15,894,818 spent last year. The budget increased after the board decided to allocate more funds to the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin said.

This year, the county jail was budgeted $3,152,000 compared to last year’s $2,850,000. Lumpkin said the board decided to approve the increase to offset the jail’s costs.

The board also approved several budget requests before finalizing the budget.

An additional $16,000 was appropriated to the Pearl River Valley Opportunity Inc. after they requested an additional part-time employee for the upcoming fiscal year. Last week, Case Manager Lilie Crawford from PRVO’s Poplarville office requested additional staff in order to meet the rising demand in the community for PRVO services. PRVO provides financial and educational assistance to low-income residents. The organization’s budget was originally set for $5,000 but now totals $21,000.

The board also agreed to allocate an additional $10,000 to the Senior Center of South Pearl River County. According to previous Item coverage, the additional money would be used to cover the center’s telecommunication expenses, an electronic tracking system that would allow the center to monitor their activities more efficiently and an expansion of the parking lot. The center will receive a total of $25,000 during the upcoming fiscal year.

The Pearl River County Library System also saw an increase in its budget. The board set the library’s budget to $222,000, an increase from last year’s $200,000. In July, the library system’s Director Carol Phares spoke to the board about the financial woes concerning the county’s two libraries, the Poplarville Library and the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library. Phares had requested an additional $27,000 during that meeting to offset their libraries rising costs. Since the installation of fiber optics, their Internet costs have increased, according to previous Item coverage.

An old service is returning to Pearl River County. The board approved $64,640 to go towards employing an animal control and litter officer. In a previous story, District V Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith said it was necessary to combine the roles in order to afford the associated cost. According to previous Item coverage, the board cut animal control funding during the 2012-2013 fiscal year for budgetary reasons.

The 2015-2016 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The next board meeting will be Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. inside the court facilities in Poplarville.