URBANA – Champaign County Board members are scheduled to vote Thursday night on the county's $123.83 million budget for the fiscal year that begins Dec. 1.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Brookens Administrative Center, 1776 E. Washington St., U.

While the overall budget is up about 9 percent from this year's spending plan – mainly because of increased federal funds to the county regional planning commission – the county's general corporate fund is down slightly, from $31.55 million to $31.45 million.

Facing a severe reduction in taxes and fees to the county, County Administrator Deb Busey this year ordered cuts in commodity purchases, services and personnel, resulting in the layoff of 13 employees and the elimination of 17 more full-time-equivalent employees.

The board also is expected to act on its 2010 property tax levy of $26.6 million, a 2.3 percent increase over the current year's levy. The levy is expected to result in a slight reduction in the county's property tax rate, currently 74.26 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Board members will be asked to reauthorize for another year a $333,142 loan from the county's general fund to the nursing home fund and to approve special police contracts between the county sheriff's department and the villages of Philo, Sidney and St. Joseph.

Also on the agenda, Diane Michaels, a Republican from Rantoul, will be sworn in as the board's newest member, replacing Kevin Hunt, who resigned, and the board will be asked to approve a resolution issuing a notice terminating the management agreement between the Champaign County Board of Health and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. The resolution gives the two sides a year to negotiate a new agreement. Some members of the county board of health have voiced displeasure with the management and the level of services they're getting from the larger Champaign-Urbana public health agency.