A higher mill levy for Scott County taxpayers was a given for the 2011 budget.
After all, initial payments for bond issues to pay for the new Scott County Hospital and an addition to Park Lane Nursing Home will begin in the upcoming year.
Those two bond issues are the major contributors to an 11.36 increase in the county mill levy. It climbs from 60.835 mills in 2010 to 72.211 mills in 2011.
It could have been even higher.
The county caught a break when total property valuation - aided by an increase in oil and natural gas values - increased by nearly $4 million. That put the total valuation at just over $80 million.
In order to continue funding programs at a level the county auditor considered appropriate, it was suggested the commission set the levy at 75.561 mills.
However, county commissioners - with the help of department heads - were able to put a general freeze on spending. The only exceptions were a three percent wage hike for all employees (commissioners excluded) and an increase in the Law Enforcement Center’s operating budget.
Reducing SCH Bond
Commissioners reduced the levy by nearly four mills when they opted to take $300,000 out of the county building fund and apply that to the hospital bond issue.
The way the bond issue is structured, in 2011 the county will have to make three payments of nearly $550,000 - for a total cost of $1,670,038. That will be reduced to two payments of $549,812 in following years.
In order to keep taxpayers from being hit with the full impact of the bond payment, the commission will pull $300,000 from within the budget and pay down the bond issue. The burden falling on property owners amounts to $720,038 - or 9.085 mills.
In accordance with the bond issue approved by voters last September, the sales tax will pay $750,000 of the debt while the hospital will provide another $200,000.
Of course, other bond issues account for a significant part of the budget.
Taxpayers will begin making payments on the Park Lane Nursing Home bond issue. The initial payment in 2011 is $495,373 - or 6.251 mills.
Other bond issues which are being carried over from earlier years include the courthouse renovation, with a payment of $143,354 (1.809 mills), the Law Enforcement Center, with a payment of $284,686 (3.592 mills); and the Scott County Library addition, costing $38,612 annually (.487 mills).
Law Enforcement Center
Budgeting for the LEC has been a challenge for the county as commissioners and the Scott City Council are still looking at how to split costs.
Both parties are reviewing figures which had the city paying 60 percent of the utilities at the LEC while the county pays 78 percent of the bond issue. Given the amount of square footage that is devoted to the jail, the city council is asking that their share of utilities be reduced to 50 percent.
If that is agreed to by both sides it will result in a slight increase in operating costs for the county.
Even though the county has now occupied the LEC for a year, they are still trying to get a handle on operating costs, says County Clerk Pam Faurot.
“It’s taking us a year to get a better idea what our utility and employee costs are,” she says. “Even then it’s still in flux because we’ve had such a turnover in our jailers that it’s required more overtime hours than we anticipated.”
Faurot says the commission is hoping that if personnel issues can stabilize with the jail it will be easier to build future budgets.
Very Few Changes
Outside of the bond issues, and a three percent increase in salaries, there were very few items that made a significant impact on next year’s budget.
A three percent salary increase for the commission would have cost $48,500. The three-man body froze their total compensation at $45,000 ($15,000 each) for the second consecutive year.
Other budget highlights include:
•Funding for the Scott County Development Committee (SCDC) was increased from $5,000 to $25,000. Rather than continue paying the SCDC’s $5,000 membership fee in Western Kansas Business Consulting, the commission said that the membership fees would need to come out of the $25,000 allocation.
•The recycling center’s budget was increased by $16,500 to assist with the hiring of another part-time employee. This would allow the county to hire two individuals to work three days each, keeping the center open six days a week.
“The center has been so busy that it’s more than one person can do to keep up with everything,” says Faurot.
While some departments did seek a small increase in their budgets, nearly all requests were denied and budgets were frozen at 2010 levels, except for employee pay raises.