Over the past few months, county staff has been putting together the 2017-18 budget for Beaufort County, amassing numbers from each department, as well as outside agencies. Last year’s budget ran at $56.7 million. The county is determined to make the next budget a continuation of the last one — continuing the same services, while keeping the dollar amount the same as the 2016-17 budget.

It’s tough work. Department heads were aware that finance staff was looking at a tight budget, and their first round of submitted budgets only exceeded the total of last year’s budget by 1 percent, or a little more than $500,000.

But now the real work begins, as the Beaufort County Board of commissioners begins a series of workshops aimed at whittling the total down to $56.7 million, or even less, if revenues don’t match up to those from last year.

So what are they looking at? By law, the county must fund the Board of Elections, Register of Deeds office, sheriff’s office, the court system, public health, social services, mental health, the medical examiner, the community college, EMS (through oversight of service tax districts and Beaufort County EMS), emergency management, public schools, property assessment, building code enforcement and the jail. The county, though not required by law, opts to fund juvenile detention, Soil and Water Conservation, the Cooperative Extension, libraries, solid waste, public transportation (through Beaufort County Development Center and the BATS bus), fire/rescue (through oversight of service tax districts), water system, regulatory powers, parks and recreation (some municipalities), community and economic development and land regulation.

That’s a lot of services, all of them vital to many residents of Beaufort County, and those services take money.

It’s easy, when on the outside, to say commissioners should slash the budget to lower taxes or prevent a tax increase. It’s easier said than done: where does one make cuts?

The public is invited to find out, as all are invited to attend the special-called meeting on May 15 at 5:30 p.m., during which the budget will be presented, as well as the series of workshops where commissioners will do the work to balance the 2017-18 budget.

Take an evening and find out what county commissioners do. Budget workshops will all be held at the Beaufort County Administrative Office boardroom at 5 p.m. on May 22, May 23, May 30 and June 1.