Big budget challenges lie ahead for St. Joseph County as per tonight's state of the county address.

Commissioner Steve Ross read the St. Joseph County council a laundry list of services in need of improvements.

A new 9-1-1 center, a new morgue, more room for the county court system, and a new radio communication system for the sheriff's department are there, just to name a few.

Ross says St. Joseph County struggles to provide millions of dollars in services when fewer property tax dollars are coming in.

“At the present time our county's outlook for the coming year must be tempered by the pending imposition of the 2 % property tax circuit breaker that the Indiana state legislature passed in 2006. Under this legislation the county stands to potentially lose 15 million dollars,” says Ross.

St. Joseph County made some major improvements in 2006, including the LaSalle Bridge Project, renovation on the old jail building, and the repair of 75 miles of county roads.