Declining property tax revenues and an increased reliance on cash reserves was the budget message shared by Fremont County Manager George Sugars on November 8th when the Board of Commissioners conducted its’ first public hearing on the 2012 proposed county budget. Sugars said uncertainty in the economy and a decrease in property taxes will make for a very tight budget situation for Fremont County in 2012.
Sugars noted that with the 2011 reassessment year, Fremont County’s assessed valuation dropped by nearly $19.9 million. The drop in property values means Fremont County will collect $244,473 less in property taxes in 2012. Sugars said in order for the county to meet its’ budgetary obligations next year the county will have to rely on $1.29 million taken from reserves in the various departmental budgets. Sugars said that specifically in the county’s General Fund the Board of Commissioners has been striving hard in the last couple of years to build cash reserves to a million dollars. The General Fund is expected to close out the 2011 budget year with a reserve of $1,090,000 but that will be short lived. Sugars said using reserve dollars to balance the 2012 budget will draw down General Fund reserves to $742,000 by the end of next year.
District 2 Commissioner Debbie Bell said the county had hoped there might be enough money to offer some kind of wage increase to county employees in 2012 but she said that won’t be possible. Bell noted that the last time county employees saw a wage hike was a one percent increase in January, 2009.
Commission Chairman Ed Norden said in recent years the commissioners locked in an amount of $3.9 in transfers from the General Fund to the Sheriff’s Fund. But Norden said operational costs in the Sheriff’s Department, particularly for inmate medical and food service, have continued to rise steadily. He said because of that the commissioners felt it was important to transfer another $265,000 to the Sheriff’s Fund in 2012. Even with that additional money the Sheriff still had to cut some $283,000 in spending from his original budget request. Commissioner Bell said even with the additional money the Sheriff will still not be able to fill a vacancy in the investigations division and still cannot afford to provide a uniform allowance for deputies.
Commissioner Norden added that the county is expecting to receive $1 million in money from the Federal “Payment in Lieu of Taxes” program (PILT). PILT is money the federal government pays to local counties representing a small portion of property tax revenue that is lost each year for federal lands within the counties’ borders. Norden said the problem is that the five year PILT appropriation is ending and congressional action will be needed to appropriate PILT money again for 2012. He said if the PILT program gets cut by congress it will have a devastating effect on Fremont County’s budget.
No citizens offered any comment at the budget hearing. The commissioners urged citizens to again inspect the 2012 proposed budget on the county’s home web page at www.fremontco.com. A second and final public hearing on the 2012 budget is set for 10 a.m. on November 22nd.
In other business at the November 8th commissioners meeting the board:
- Reappointed Florence City Councilman Larry Baker to serve as the City of Florence’s representative on the Fremont County Planning Commission;
- Approved a resolution imposing a one year moratorium on any new leases of property at the Fremont County Airport or until such time as Armstrong Consultants completes an update of the Airport Master Plan;
- Approved a motion proclaiming :November 17th as “Fremont County Adoption Day”, a day when the adoptions of five local children will be finalized;
- Appointed Dennis Withers, Mike Drake, and Stephanie Danielson to the newly created Fremont County Airport War Memorial Park Advisory Committee;
- Approved a 2 year extension on hard surfacing requirements for Jeff and Lissa Pinello at Biker Town along Highway 115 in Penrose. The business is currently not in operation;
- Approved the revocation of a Conditional Use Permit for the Rocky Mountain Materials gravel pit along Highway 50 just east of the Fremont County Airport. The State of Colorado has released Rocky Mountain from further responsibility noting that the firm has completed a reclamation plan on the site.