The Fremont County Commissioners have adopted resolutions approving the language for three revenue questions which will appear on the County's November ballot. The action came at a special meeting Thursday morning, August 31st.
Ballot question 1A will address needs at the Fremont County Sheriff's Department. It will ask voters to approve 5.5 mills of property tax to produce $1.9 million in annual revenue for the Sheriff's Department. Of that total, $1.5 million would be earmarked to staff and operate the 96 bed jail addition. The other $400,000 would finance the hiring and equipping of another ten patrol deputies.
Sheriff Jim Beicker said he appreciates the Commissioners working with him to solve these problems. He said the ballot issues are the result of a long, sustained effort which involved a number of town hall meetings with citizens across the county. Commissioner Ed Norden added that initially the Sheriff's ballot measure was intended only to address opening the 96 bed jail addition. But he said that citizens spoke out saying they also wanted the question to address additional patrol deputies. If approved, Sheriff Beicker plans to start hiring jail staff early in 2007 with a target date of July 1st, 2007 to begin opening the extra jail cells.
Ballot measure 1B would raise $850,000 from 2.5 mills of property tax over seven years with the tax to end, or sunset, in 2013 unless voters renew it. The money would address priority improvements for asphalt, chip sealing, and gravel for road and bridge repairs in all three of the county's road districts. Under state law part of the road & bridge money would be shared with all municipalities in the county.
The Commissioners said the numbers show that if both 1A and 1B are approved they will add $56 in additional property tax per year to each $100,000 of property value. For an average $135,000 value home it would add $76 in property tax each year. Commissioner Norden said he would compare that to the average cost of a wheel alignment that might be required each year from driving rough roads.
The third ballot measure, 1C, would renew Fremont County's two percent lodging tax used for tourism promotion. The tax is collected from motels, hotels, and campgrounds. Collections from the two percent lodging tax last year enabled the Fremont County Tourism Council to operate with a $117,000 budget in 2006. The lodging tax approved in 2001 sunsets at the end of 2006. The ballot measure would place a ten year sunset on the tax if it is renewed by voters.
In a fourth agenda item at the special meeting the Board of Commissioners approved the sale of eight acres at the Fremont County Airport Industrial Park. The eight acres is part of a 40 acre tract the county owns on the west side of Highway 67 southwest of the airport. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to construct a new office on two acres of the plot to process immigration detainees but it would not house any of the violators.
Ballot question 1A will address needs at the Fremont County Sheriff's Department. It will ask voters to approve 5.5 mills of property tax to produce $1.9 million in annual revenue for the Sheriff's Department. Of that total, $1.5 million would be earmarked to staff and operate the 96 bed jail addition. The other $400,000 would finance the hiring and equipping of another ten patrol deputies.
Sheriff Jim Beicker said he appreciates the Commissioners working with him to solve these problems. He said the ballot issues are the result of a long, sustained effort which involved a number of town hall meetings with citizens across the county. Commissioner Ed Norden added that initially the Sheriff's ballot measure was intended only to address opening the 96 bed jail addition. But he said that citizens spoke out saying they also wanted the question to address additional patrol deputies. If approved, Sheriff Beicker plans to start hiring jail staff early in 2007 with a target date of July 1st, 2007 to begin opening the extra jail cells.
Ballot measure 1B would raise $850,000 from 2.5 mills of property tax over seven years with the tax to end, or sunset, in 2013 unless voters renew it. The money would address priority improvements for asphalt, chip sealing, and gravel for road and bridge repairs in all three of the county's road districts. Under state law part of the road & bridge money would be shared with all municipalities in the county.
The Commissioners said the numbers show that if both 1A and 1B are approved they will add $56 in additional property tax per year to each $100,000 of property value. For an average $135,000 value home it would add $76 in property tax each year. Commissioner Norden said he would compare that to the average cost of a wheel alignment that might be required each year from driving rough roads.
The third ballot measure, 1C, would renew Fremont County's two percent lodging tax used for tourism promotion. The tax is collected from motels, hotels, and campgrounds. Collections from the two percent lodging tax last year enabled the Fremont County Tourism Council to operate with a $117,000 budget in 2006. The lodging tax approved in 2001 sunsets at the end of 2006. The ballot measure would place a ten year sunset on the tax if it is renewed by voters.
In a fourth agenda item at the special meeting the Board of Commissioners approved the sale of eight acres at the Fremont County Airport Industrial Park. The eight acres is part of a 40 acre tract the county owns on the west side of Highway 67 southwest of the airport. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to construct a new office on two acres of the plot to process immigration detainees but it would not house any of the violators.