Butler County Commissioner Jim Eckstein is proposing several changes to the 2016 county budget — ones that he feels would lessen the proposed property tax increase.

The county’s proposed $150.7 million budget, which commissioners on Wednesday are supposed to vote on, has a 3-mill tax increase.

At a meeting today, Eckstein made his own proposal that he feels would save the county $3.1 million.

Eckstein said he was not in favor of a 3-mill tax increase.

“I’m not for this at all. I don’t think we need it,” Eckstein said.

Eckstein claimed that $2 million in Act 13 Marcellus Shale natural gas impact fees were omitted from the 2016 general fund budget proposal, which he claimed was a bad bookkeeping practice.

Eckstein’s proposal has the impact fee money covering $300,000 for drug, veteran and mental health court programs, $500,000 for a county contingency fund and $900,000 for 911 radio upgrades.

He also said many department salary budgets are overinflated. By reducing the budgeted amount to more realistic numbers, Eckstein said $340,000 extra can be added to the general fund.

Eckstein also proposed adding half a million dollars to the general fund from the workers’ compensation fund. With Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center being sold in 2014, the county has about 220 fewer employees.

Additionally, Eckstein wanted to reduce office cleaning, amend travel policies to be more in line with state and federal travel policies and take $100,000 from the prison’s contingency fund for the general fund.

He said the added money placed in the general fund would reduce the tax increase to 1.25 mills.

Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, said he felt that some of the things Eckstein reported were “absolutely not correct.”

However, having just received the information, he said he has not had time to fully analyze the proposal and could not say more.