By DANI BLACKBURN
Montague County Commissioners will face tough decisions in the coming weeks as they whittle down more than one million dollars in expenses from the proposed budget presented in Monday’s meeting.
The proposed 2018 expenses total $12,858,000 with projected income of $11,786,303, creating a budget shortfall of $1,071,697.
The process of completing the budget will begin in a called meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday as Montague County Tax Assessor Sydney Nowell presents the certified appraisal values for 2017. The public budget hearings are set for Aug. 14 and Aug. 20.
The court had its fourth budget workshop Monday debating more funding for Nocona ambulance and possibly new state mandates.
Representatives from Nocona General Hospital attended Monday’s workshop to request the same percentage increase Bowie received in its recent negotiations. This request comes on the heels of Saint Jo EMS asking for an increase two weeks ago.

Read the full story in the mid-week News.