Commission President Charles Probst Jr. said, "We had thought we'd have to cut another 15 to 20 percent off everyone's budget, but we're not going to have to do that. Everything really looks good. We expect a $800,000 carryover."

Commissioners credit all the county offices to get to this point. Departments took it upon themselves to trim spending.

Probst said, "They submitted the first budget in June or July. We took a look at it. We asked them to submit to reduce their expenditures and they did a great job in doing that."

Last year, it was the sheriff's department that took a big cut that caused controversy. For next year, Sheriff Fred Thompson already cut his budget by nearly $1 million through cutbacks. He'll start 2010 with roughly $3.3 million.

As commissioners look ahead to the new year, it's only looking better. They expect two or three manufacturing companies to locate in Belmont County. Probst said, "If everything goes according to how we expect, the county could see another 400 to 500 good paying jobs next year."

The commission will meet on Jan. 6 to finalize the 2010 budget.