Polk County residents will have the chance to give their opinions on the county’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2011-2012 Monday, June 13. Commissioners will hold a special meeting for a public hearing beginning at 7 p.m. at the Womack building in Columbus.
Polk County Manager Ryan Whitson is recommending a budget with no tax increase. It includes an additional $300,000 in general school funding and more recently, an additional $100,000 to help fund the More-at-Four preschool program. It is not clear where the $100,000 would be pulled from in the budget.
The proposed budget adds $180,000 to the county’s savings for future Lake Adger Dam repairs, $100,000 for county-wide water and water line extensions, $20,000 in contingency and at least $90,000 in fuel contingency.
Commissioners have also agreed to hire a new economic development director, which is planned to be a contracted service budgeted at $50,000. Polk is combining its economic development commission and travel and tourism department with the county only using approximately $64,000 of hospitality tax funding to fund the travel and tourism department. The travel and tourism director will be made part-time next year if the proposed budget is approved.
Other changes proposed next year are for employee deductibles and copays on insurance to rise beginning on Jan. 1, 2012. The budget does not include any salary increases for employees but does increase employee Christmas bonuses to $300 next year.
Commissioners have another budget proposed recently by commissioner Tom Pack, which includes a $300,000 tax decrease and increases in salaries for some sheriff’s office, jail and communications employees. Pack’s budget also includes keeping employee deductibles at the current $500 per employee.
The majority of commissioners have expressed concern over Pack’s budget. (See more details on discussions regarding Pack’s budget proposal in the Monday, June 13 Bulletin.)
The tax rate on the manager’s proposed budget is recommended to stay at 52 cents per $100 of valuation with the total budget proposal at $25,998,075.
The total real property valuation is $2,587,231,539, which is an increase of $7,431,480 or 0.3 percent. The collection rate is 96.78 percent, according to the 2010 audit, compared to the previous year at 97.62 percent. Whitson said at the current tax collection rate, the county should bring in $13,020,398 in property tax revenue next year.
The value for motor vehicles is down, according to the proposed budget, to $138,628,377 from $165,074,797 the previous year, but the collection rate is slightly up. The 2011-2012 estimated figures should bring in $643,661 in motor vehicle tax revenue, according to projections.
The total revenue estimated from property and motor vehicle taxes is $13,954,059, which is $198,186 less than what was projected in the current year’s budget.
The county is also projected to receive $1,891,820 in sales tax revenue next fiscal year, which Whitson has said is an optimistic increase of 2.99 percent over the current year’s projected budget.
The county is also anticipating permit and fee revenues in the amount of $297,636, which is down 7.95 percent from the current budget. Other projected revenues, including from interest, grants and the sale of assets are estimated at $107,890, which is almost half of the current budget.
“This is a safe, realistic budget,” Whitson said when proposing the budget. “It is not overly optimistic and it keeps Polk County in a position to weather future problems from the economic downturn.
Commissioners will hear comments from the public on Monday and could make changes to the proposal depending on feedback. Commissioners are scheduled to adopt the budget and tax levy on Monday, Jan. 20. The new budget year begins July 1.