The county commission has begun whacking away at the proposed general fund budget with a goal of cutting $552,060. That’s the amount needed to keep the budget in line with the certified tax rate of $2.18/hundred in assessed valuation. Last year’s tax rate was $2.99

In a reappraisal year, the state determines the property tax rate that is supposed to generate approximately the same revenue as the previous year. In other words, if property values go up 25% overall, the tax rate must go down 25% to compensate. The state does not allow cities and counties to reap the benefit of increases in the market value of property. The commission can set the tax rate higher than the certified rate, but it must hold a hearing to explain the need.

Because of an error in the total revenue number provided by the state for last year’s tax rate calculation, property tax revenue was overstated for last year. With the certified rate, next year’s property tax revenue will actually be lower than the year just ended. The commission knows how much is required for the Debt Service fund next year, as well as the amount needed to give schools approximately the same amount of revenue as last year (state law will not allow counties to reduce local revenue for schools), so the commission’s goal is to cut the general fund budget proposal to match the total property tax revenue anticipated with the certified tax rate. The budget committee started with the assumption that next year’s collections will be 90% of the amount billed to determine the expected property tax revenue. Each penny on the tax rate would generate $29,711.

There will be a big increase in revenue generated by boarding state prisoners at the jail. For the year ended June 30, the county received $590,450 with the jail operating for around nine months, up from the budgeted $223,000. For the budget year beginning July 1, an anticipated $945,000 will be generated through boarding of state prisoners for a full year. There will also be a big increase in jail costs because the budget will be for a full year.

The other positive news was the fact there is a $1 million fund balance from the budget year that ended June 30, even though property tax revenue was down. In addition to the additional money from prisoner boarding, nearly every department had money unspent at the end of the year, with some significant amounts left.

On the other hand, there are several big new expenses, including a new roof on the courthouse and “safe rooms” required following an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit. The new budget proposal includes the $67,150 bond payment for Copper Basin Medical Center. The hospital has been making the payment but was late last year, so the county made the payment. It was reimbursed, but the payment was included in the budget proposal just in case it happens again. The budget also includes a proposed 5% pay raise for employees.

The budget committee last week began by looking at proposed expenditures. On hand were Mark Bishop, Wanda Cheek, Daniel Deal, John Pippenger, and Daren Waters. Beginning with a goal of $552,060 in cuts, they still had $297,933 to cut after three hours, with no major departments left. Cuts ranged from multiple thousands to cutting the allocation for membership dues from $300 to $100. Committee members compared the requests to budgeted and actual expenditures in the last budget year.

The $150,000 proposed for the Courthouse roof and other repairs was reduced to $60,000 because there is a reserve fund of nearly $60,000 that can be used only for jail or courthouse construction. Pippenger said they could use fund balance money if the bids are higher than $120,000.

Bishop suggested eliminating the 5% raise for Sheriff’s deputies, saying they had gotten a raise two years ago, but then withdrew the motion. The committee did cut the request for a third investigator position. The request for two new police cars was reduced to cover lease payments over three years rather than a purchase.

For the jail, the committee turned down the Sheriff’s request for three additional guards. These positions were not in the original budget proposal, but Sheriff Bill Davis sent a supplemental request. The three positions were requested last year and are part of a lawsuit for jail funding that has not yet been to court.

The committee was scheduled to meet again Tuesday, 7 p.m. at the Courthouse in Benton.