Discussions Over the New County Budget Stay Heated

The Fayette County Commissioners Court held another budget workshop Wednesday and then voted 4-1 to amend the proposed budget and the proposed property tax rate.

The Court had previously proposed a property tax rate of $0.44439 per $100 of taxable value. After some pushback from taxpayers the week prior, Commissioners cut enough out of the proposed budget to shave a penny off the rate, to $0.43439 per $100 of taxable value.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom cast the dissenting vote Thursday. He had advocated for even deeper cuts to the budget.

Plum resident William Bernsen spoke during the public comment period before the budget workshop. He cited several years in a row of large spending increases in the County budget. He said total expenses 32 percent in the past four years and county employee wages up 19 percent during the same time period. Bernsen then addressed County Judge Dan Mueller.

“Judge Mueller, you promised us fiscally conservative budgeting,” Bernsen said. “I don’t consider these budgets fiscally conservative. Quite frankly, I feel like a sheep being shorn as near to the skin as possible. And that offends me, because I’m no sheep.”

During the workshop, Commissioners reviewed the approximately $674,000 they cut from the proposed budget. Another citizen, Ken Dernehl, had asked the County to eliminate the hog and coyote bounty program as a way to save money. That program will cost the County about $40,000 next year.

Dernehl noted that some of the $674,000 in budget cuts would have been used on vehicles and equipment for the Sheriff’s Office and EMS Department.

“We’re talking about some real money,” Dernehl said. “If you were flush with cash, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But you cut the EMS and Sheriff’s budget.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff said no department in the County is getting less money than they had last year.

“We’re not giving everybody exactly what they’re asking for, but no one’s cutting any budgets here,” Berckenhoff said.

“But you are increasing taxes,” Dernehl said.

The tax rate, if finally approved, will go up nearly two and a half cents, from the current rate of $0.40984 to $0.43439. Property appraisals were down slightly this year due to lower mineral values and a new exemption for business personal property. The rate would have gone up to $0.42030 just to collect the same amount of revenue as last year.

McBroom mentioned the mineral values and new exemption when asked after the meeting about his dissenting vote.

“I still think the tax rate could have been lower,” McBroom said. “I think there were some other cuts that could have been made throughout. The burden has shifted to the taxpayers because of valuation being lost from minerals and the new personal property exemption.”

At the proposed rate of $0.43439, the budget will increase property tax collections by nearly $1.5 million next year, amounting to a 5.968 percent tax increase.