Franklin County commissioners earmarked a half-million dollars yesterday to pay for more aggressive pursuit and prosecution of sexual predators.

"We are providing additional funds for our sheriff and prosecutor so we can protect our children," Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy said.

Commissioners unveiled a $314.9 million operating budget for 2008 yesterday, raising spending by $1 million more than the plan proposed last month by management staff.

Commissioners opted to set aside less money next year for legal bills -- those costs ran low in 2007 anyway -- and to use that money instead to support safety, education and arts programs.

Sheriff Jim Karnes had lobbied during budget hearings for more deputies to enforce a new state law that keeps closer tabs on sexual offenders. The commissioners' final budget gives him $409,447 to hire two additional detectives and to help run the program that tracks offenders. The budget also provides $117,000 to add a criminal investigator and an assistant prosecutor for child-pornography cases.

"This budget reflects the priorities that I believe are the values of this community: Jobs, health, safety and security, art and culture," Commissioner Marilyn Brown said.

Kilroy said the new budget represents a below-inflation 2.8 percent increase over 2007. She called it "fiscally prudent."

In a busy year-end meeting, commissioners also approved their first contract for a new dog shelter, officially launching a project discussed for years.

They also raised sewer and water rates for 9,700 customers, and approved construction contracts for their new baseball stadium and Common Pleas courthouse.

The new dog shelter is expected to cost no more than $18 million and provide 60,000 square feet to replace a decrepit kennel on Alum Creek Drive. The existing kennel currently is packed with 360 dogs and was meant to hold far fewer than the 300 dogs it usually has crowded within it.

The county will pay URS Corporation Design, a local company that was one of three bidders, $1.4 million to design a kennel with germ-fighting ventilation systems, cheerful and well-lighted adoption areas, and efficient surgical rooms.

"We desperately need this," Lisa Wahoff, the county's director of animal care and control, told commissioners.

Dozens of community groups will receive grants to continue charitable work. But commissioners couldn't help all who applied, Kilroy said.

"There are many needs," she said. "There's no Santa Claus at the county commission."

Commissioners also:

• Raised sewer and water rates to pass along increases from Columbus. County sewer charges will go up 13 percent and water fees 18 percent. Columbus is spending more than $515 million to reduce sewage overflows and is building above-ground reservoirs.

• Set higher permit and zoning fees to keep pace with inflation. The increases should bring in $76,400 more a year; revenue from permit fees is currently about $350,000. Fees for new construction will remain flat, given the slump in the housing market.

• Approved more than $20 million in concrete, steel, masonry and electrical contracts for Huntington Park and the courthouse.

bcarmen@dispatch.com