Kosciusko County Council approved the 2011 budget for the county at its monthly meeting Thursday night.
The council met twice in late August to go over the budget, which Council President Harold Jones described at one point prior as "flatlined".
A 2-percent pay increase for all county employees was approved.
Last year, facing a budget crunch, the council voted to cut county employees' pay by 7 percent. That decision was later rescinded and instead departments were asked to slash their budgets.
Thursday night, the council also approved a 5-year tax abatement on property for Midwest Rake.
The business bought the old Monaco Coach Facility at 2666 S. Country Club Road.
R-Vision, a division of Monaco Coach, laid off nearly 400 people and shut its doors in early 2009.
Attorney Steve Snyder, representing Midwest Rake, cited that the facility has been empty and the assessed value of the property has plummeted.
Snyder said Midwest Rake plans to add $200,000 in equipment and $410,000 to its payroll during the tax abatement.
A 10-year tax abatement on real estate was also given to Cass Holdings, which is under the umbrella of Midwest Rake.
Snyder said the hope is to sell or lease the five remaining buildings on the site.
A lack of a sewer system, said Snyder, could limit what sort of business came in. He did say that they were looking at bringing in warehousing and manufacturing.
Councilman Bob Sanders asked if a tax abatement could be given to the businesses moving into those facilities after an abatement was already given to Cass Holdings, who handles the real estate aspect for Midwest Rake.
Sanders was told a future business at that site could receive an abatement for equipment and real estate if a building is sold.
A non-binding recommendation was approved for the Warsaw city budget.
"We recognize that no one is better able to serve the taxpayers than these entities themselves," said county councilman Larry Teghtmeyer. "This is a non-binding recommendation so we recommend that with this and all budgets that they stay under the state's growth rate of 2.9 percent."
The tax rates for the County Option Income Tax and Economic Development Income Tax were announced Thursday night.
The COIT tax rate will be .07 percent while EDIT will be .03.
Those tax rates are the same as they were in 2010.
The council also reviewed the 2011 Solid Waste District budget.
That budget will be voted on during the council's next meeting Oct. 14.
