In a last-minute shift, the Carroll County commissioners approved a $2.6 million budget allocation to move the county's Emergency Operations Center back to its former home on Route 32, a move firefighters and emergency dispatchers have been advocating for months.

Money for the move was not included in the original budget proposal. Commissioners added the allocation to the final version approved Friday night. That addition was the only surprise in a budget that is otherwise identical to the working version released in April.

The final budget for fiscal 2003 includes about $230 million in operating expenses and about $65 million in construction expenses.

Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge said the commissioners decided to fund the emergency center move because of security concerns, which have become magnified since Sept. 11.

"It was clear that the majority of the emergency workers want the move, and the least we can do in return for their service is give them a place where if something would happen they'd be able to keep up communications and do their jobs," Gouge said.

The center occupies part of the basement floor at the County Office Building in Westminster. Emergency officials say it's difficult to keep strangers from wandering into the offices, and they also worry that a catastrophe at the building might disable the system designed to deal with such an emergency.

The former facility, just outside Westminster, is built into a hill, and features secure doors and alarms.