Decatur County will begin the process of formulating its fiscal year 2012-13 budget this coming Monday, Commissioner Dr. Earl Perry said at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Decatur County Board of Commissioners.

Perry is a member of the finance committee, which also includes Commissioner Frank Loeffler and Board Vice Chairman Russell Smith. County Finance Director Carl Rowland and County Interim Administrator Gary Breedlove also typically attend the finance committee’s meetings, where the upcoming budget is discussed. The new fiscal year begins July 1, and continues through June 30, 2013.

Rowland said the first finance committee meeting will be Monday, April 16, at 9:30 a.m. The full board will then hold a finance workshop later that day at 1:30 p.m.

After Monday’s meetings, the finance committee will then meet individually every other day (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) with each of the county’s department heads, Rowland said. He anticipated that these meetings, which would begin Wednesday, April 18, would take approximately two weeks.

“We plan on culminating the finance committee meetings some time in the first week or two in May,” Rowland said. “And then we’ll get the full board involved in the more detailed budget process. I do not see this being an easy time. We’re continually faced with shorter and shorter dollars, and I think we’re going to have to think outside of the box to make [our budget] work.”