FAIRMONT - Martin County's 2009 budget had less of a shortfall than expected, but commissioners are concerned what next year might hold.

"The shortfall for the 2009 budget was $135,000, while for 2008 it was $183,000," County Coordinator Scott Higgins told commissioners Tuesday. "So we're actually in good shape with how we've been managing the budget for a number of years."

But commissioners weren't ready to pat themselves on the back.

"I'm more worried about 2010," said Chairman Steve Donnelly.

Commissioners planned to meet with department heads to discuss state aid reductions, but the board decided to wait until county budget talks for 2010 begin next month.

"We have a $15 million budget for the county," said Commissioner Steve Pierce. "With a shortfall of $135,000 I don't think we'll need to spend a lot of time knuckling it down."

Without preliminary numbers from the state, predicting what the next budget cycle will be like is a bit of guesswork.

"We're not anticipating any further allotments between now and December," Higgins noted.

In other business, commissioners awarded highway construction bids to Southern Minnesota Construction of Mankato for overlays on county roads 50 and 39, along with shouldering on County Road 26. The cost for county roads 50 and 39 is $1.35 million, or less than estimated by the highway department. The County Road 26 bid was $185,416.

The county also awarded a highway pavement striping bid to AAA striping of St. Michael. The bid of $144,100 is for both Martin and Faribault counties, so Martin County will be responsible for about $72,000.