MOULTRIE, Ga. — A proposed budget presented this week to Colquitt County Commission would increase spending on big equipment and include funding for  jail improvements.

But despite boosting spending by $1.9 million over the current year’s budget, the spending plan proposed by County Administrator Chas Cannon does not call for a tax increase.

At the jail, Colquitt County Sheriff Al Whittington requested $500,000 for improvements in the camera, lock and door-control systems. The issue has been deemed crucial in prior years.

Out of the amount requested, the recommended budget contains $300,000, two-thirds of which would come from proceeds from the county’s penny special local option sales tax fund.

In the Roads and Bridges Department, the spending plan calls for an excavator at $288,500, a grader at $230,700, two mowing tractors for $122,200 and a road paver at $115,150.

It also would replace four dump trucks, two crew trucks, two pickup trucks, a crew cab truck and two water trucks at a total of $495,900.

During the economic downturn the county has put off buying large equipment and other spending, according to Cannon.

Of the county’s fleet of 87 vehicles, 33 are 18 years or older or have more than 175,000 miles, he said.

“Fifty-two percent of our vehicle fleet is 10 years old, which results in higher maintenance costs to maintain these older vehicles,” he told commissioners.

As an extreme example, he showed a slide of a 1972 water-tank truck that is towed to work sites when needed.

To fund the proposed spending on big-ticket items, the county administration is looking at spending about $780,000 in reserve funds. The county also expects a slight increase of less than 1 percent in the 2016 tax digest, and will look at saving money by increasing the use of inmate labor from Colquitt County Correctional Institution, cutting costs for phone and utilities, combining some departments and eliminating unnecessary positions, and looking at a transportation sales tax that could be put on the ballot for voters to weigh in for the November 2017 ballot.

The latter would assist with road paving and maintenance needs on the county’s more than 1,000 miles of dirt and paved roads.

The commission continues its budget meetings on Thursday and has a number of such meetings planned before presenting a final version. The new budget year begins on July 1.