Allen County commissioners cut more than $1.1 million in tax support for the 2011 budget Tuesday and reduced the ad valorem tax levy by 11.905 mills to 67.493 by surgically attacking line items in the budget.
A levy of one mill raises $1 in tax money for each $1,000 of assessed valuation. A house with market value of $100,000 is assessed at 11.5 percent of market value, or $11,500.
If no further reductions are made, the budget will limit 2011 expenditures to $12,436,613, supported by property tax collections of $6,153,762, an increase of about $280,000 over this year. Valuation increased $137,000 to $91,178,288.
Dick Works, in his 20th year as a commissioner, noted that additional tax revenue was required because of losses in non-tax revenue, including interest on idle funds and cash carryover, and slight increases in budget demands.
Spending next year will be concentrated in the general fund, $4.96 million, ambulance fund, $1.3 million, and road and bridge fund, $2.33 million. The solid waste fund, which doesn’t require a property tax levy, was figured at $1.88 million, which will include a $50,000 transfer to the general fund.
The general fund pays the costs of courthouse operations, including the jail and sheriff’s office. The county provides financial support for the judicial system, but it mainly depends on state money.
Works and Gary McIntosh wielded budget-cutting knives. The third commissioner, Rob Francis, was on vacation.
A public hearing on the budget will be at 10 a.m. Aug. 17.
County cuts into spending plan
