Allen County commissioners will have a budget hearing on Tuesday morning before approving a plan to decrease property taxes by about a half of a mill.
The budget hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday. They will also have a hearing on the revenue neutral rate, which is what it would take to generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year using the current assessed valuation.
The county’s valuation increased by about $10 million this year, to $172.2 million up from $163.7 million last year. That means each mill — or taxing unit — will generate more money.
But the county’s expenses also were higher this year, forcing commissioners to make decisions about what to cut in order to keep taxes low.
After a lengthy discussion during a special meeting on July 20, commissioners agreed to a budget that sets the 2024 tax rate at 60.954 mills.
That’s just a little less than half a mill lower than the 2023 budget, which was 61.355.
The budget is estimated at about $2 million more than last year.
To generate the same amount as last year, the revenue neutral rate, the county would need 58.383 mills.
To accommodate the increased budget but maintain a lower mill levy rate, commissioners reduced a cost-of-living increase for employees from 5% to 3%.
One of the areas where the budget increased was in the ambulance department, after the county agreed to a new contract with the City of Iola. The county expects to spend about $2.1 million on ambulance services next year, up from $1.8 million. However, the county also got a boost from its EMS insurance billing last year, collecting about $800,000 when the county had expected $650,000. Auditor Rodney Burns said this year also looks promising, as the county has already collected about $600,000. However, he suggested they keep revenue estimates at around $650,000 in 2024.
The road and bridge department’s budget will increase by about a $500,000 because of investments in equipment.
The county’s election fund also was set about $16,000 higher because there will be more elections in 2024, including a presidential primary and a presidential election.
On the plus side, the county is collecting more interest on investments, with about $500,000 so far this year compared to $280,000 last year. Burns recommended they set expectations for next year’s interest revenue at $300,000.
However, revenue was down at the jail. Sheriff Bryan Murphy said other counties such as Linn County have built new detention centers, which cuts into the county’s profit for housing out-of-county inmates.
As part of this year’s budget work, commissioners asked each of the department leaders to come before them to discuss their budget requests and specific areas where costs had increased. Chairman David Lee said he appreciated those discussions.
