ESCANABA — A public hearing on Delta County’s proposed budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year was held during a Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday. A second public hearing has been set for the board’s next regular meeting.

In a budget report, the county’s proposed 2020-21 general fund budget was listed as $10,888,990. This would be an increase of $35,862 from the amended 2019-20 general fund budget of $10,853,128.

No comments on the budget were made during Tuesday’s public hearing. Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo said local residents will have another chance to share their thoughts during the board’s Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting, which will begin at 5:15 p.m.

More information about the budget will be shared in a presentation at the Sept. 15 meeting.

“Our controller Ashleigh Young and myself will be giving that presentation,” DeSalvo said.

In other business, the board:

– voted to decline a request from OHM Advisors to increase its fee for work on the county’s master plan from $40,000 to $43,000.

While the board’s final vote on the issue was unanimous, there was some discussion between board members and other county officials beforehand. Delta County Building and Zoning Administrator Dan Menacher — who attended Tuesday’s meeting via Zoom — supported the increase, largely because the planning commission’s level of involvement with efforts to develop the master plan was lower than he expected.

“They did a lot of the hand-holding and legwork that planning commission members could have done,” he said of OHM.

Vice Chair David Rivard was concerned by the idea of paying OHM more than was listed in the original contract.

“I’m afraid we’re setting a precedent, and I’d rather not do that, personally,” he said.

– approved a three-year contract extension with annual increases of 2 percent for probate court union employees.