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Commissioners examine budget and levy for 2010 CROW WING COUNTY BOARD Senior Reporter Crow Wing County expects to set a 2010 levy increase of 2.95 percent or $36,221,696 compared to 2009 for the lowest percentage levy increase in 13 years.
Commissioners did not take formal action Tuesday, but met as a committee to discuss the budget. Cuts to the Crow Wing County Soil and Water Conservation District and RSVP were discussed.
The 2010 preliminary budget is $67,679,233. If the budget is approved as recommended, Mike Carlson, accounting/finance manager in the auditor's office, reported this is the third consecutive year the county will have a levy increase of 3 percent or less. In 2006, the levy was $31,321,680 with a budget of $60,133,456.
The county's estimated tax rate for 2010 is 27.823 compared to a rate of 28.568 percent in 2009.
Personnel costs account for 47.03 percent of the budget. For 2010, staff is reduced by 13.9 full-time equivalent positions - mostly through early retirement incentives. One layoff is proposed in the preliminary budget. As for 2010 salary and wage increases, the county reported the increase of $185,442 amounts to an increase of .81 percent from 2009. Since 2008, the county has reduced its staff by 10.19 percent.
The county plans to put aside funds to pay for expenditures instead of going into debt, although officials noted the levy limits imposed by the state that put debt outside those limits actually restricts a "pay as you go" plan and encourages debt.
The county plans to put aside $500,000 for the $5.2 million 800 megahertz conversion as the federal government is forcing a move for public safety radio traffic by 2013. The county has $2 million set aside for the project now and additional funding may be available through federal and state grants.
The county is also levying $500,000 to set aside to pay for retiree benefit obligations with OPEB or Other Post Employee Benefits for the second consecutive year. The OPEB liability is $32,784,518. With a change in the law, the county is mandated to set aside those funds. Commissioner Paul Thiede said if the county had been obligated to set aside those dollars in the past, there may not be such a big hole to dig out of now.
Other budget recommendations reinstated $500 to the Civil Air Patrol for a total appropriation of $2,000.
Commissioners, Administrator Tim Houle and County Auditor Deborah Erickson praised managers and department heads for coming in with budgets that met the board's target goal to be below a 3 percent levy increase. Erickson said departments met that goal with the first budget submittals.
Houle said it was a mixture of good staff and a good board that set broad parameters and gave staff flexibility to meet those priorities without getting into the minutia.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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