The Grays Harbor County commissioners approved a budget for the 2017 general fund.

Each commissioner had proposed their own budget. On Dec. 19, the last regular meeting of the year for the board, the commissioners were unable to agree on one of those three proposals.

Commissioner and Chairman Wes Cormier noted after the meeting that the commissioners, by law, had to adopt a budget by Dec. 31.

During a special meeting on Dec. 22, a fourth option, which was created using the median of the the three proposed budgets, was approved by the commissioners.

“It’s a planning document, and we could change it next month,” Commissioner Vickie Raines said. “I don’t like it, but I’m going with it just so we can get something on the books. We’ll work on it in 2017.”

The median budget adopted on Dec. 22 also will bring the highest operating deficit of the four options, leaving the county at more than $1.25 million in the red. Raines’ proposed budget had an operating deficit nearing that level at $1.24 million. Cormier’s budget — which was adjusted late last week — had an operating deficit of just over $1 million.

None of the considered budgets meet the county’s target of 16 percent ending cash. The median budget will finish more than $202,000 short of target ending cash.

Union negotiations are ongoing for staff contracts, which could lead to pay increases for county employees. Those increases would impact the general fund.

When asked if the adopted budget included funding for those potential increases, Cormier noted the commissioners plan to address any increases later.

“That’s something that we’re going to have to consider later on in the year,” Cormier said. “We’ve talked about looking at emergency budgets, doing them three or four times throughout the year.”

As the commissioners have said during past budget periods, Raines noted that the budget is a “working document.”