Allen County commissioners came to their meeting Tuesday with sharp pencils, and erasers.
By the time they had completed a review of the 2013 budgets, they had cut 7 mills from the tax levy, and pared expenditures by $675,000.
That left total expenditures at just under $12.7 million and the supportive levy at 10.182 mills. This year’s budget contains expenditures of $11.73 million and an ad valorem tax levy of 67.635.
Commissioners said more surgery may await the budget when they meet against Tuesday. Their hope, mentioned several times, is to get the levy as close to last year’s as possible.
If it remains above 70 mills, it will be the first ever to exceed that threshold.
The general fund’s levy was reduced by a tad over 5 1/2 mills to 39.74. That still is 2.519 mills more than this year’s 45.254.
To give perspective, a levy of 1 mill raises $1 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation. A home valued at $100,000 in the marketplace is assessed at $11,500, meaning a levy of 1 mill costs the homeowner $11.50. A levy of 70 mills would be $805.
General fund expenditures for next year, provided no further cuts are made, total just less than $5.4 million. The general fund pays for courthouse expenses, including law enforcement and jail operations as well as dispatch services and emergency management. Also, $80,000 given Iola annually to subsidize its ambulance service and annual debt service for the jail’s construction, $226,208 next year, come from the general fund.
Road and Bridge Department is a separate line item. Next year’s expenditures are projected at $1.63 million and will require a levy of 16.97 mills. Ambulance service is forecast to cost $1.3 million, with a levy of an even 3 mills, while appraisal costs are expected to total $337,575, with a levy of 2.536 mills.
A levy of 1 mill will raises $95,869 when applied to the county’s assessed valuation of $95,869,204.
All together, the budget will be supported by tax dollar collections of $6,728,159, which is about 53 percent of total expenditures. Remaining revenue comes from fees, cash carried forward from this year and sales tax collections, anticipated next year at $480,000.
Another $485,000 will come from motor vehicle taxes. Jail fees, for housing prisoners from other jurisdictions, is figured at $125,000.
