County's budget $18.3 million, $600,000 less than last year's

County's budget $18.3 million, $600,000 less than last year's

Jan. 3, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

The Montezuma County budget approved for 2002 totals $18.3 million, slightly less than last year.

The difference of approximately $600,000 is because there are no longer any expenditures budgeted for construction of the new county jail, which was completed last summer.

The general-fund and social-services allocations represent the bulk of the budget. The $6.6 million budgeted for the general fund pays for basic county operations including the offices of the treasurer, assessor, county clerk and coroner, commissioners’ salaries, sheriff’s department, district attorney and health departments.

Department budgets included a 3 percent increase typically handed down as cost-of-living pay increase.

Social services received a $6.5 million budget, reported Kathy Talcott, finance officer for social services.

Those programs are funded by a combination of federal state and local taxes and include administration ($903,000), food stamps ($1.5 million), TANFF assistance payments ($500,000), disabled aid ($266,000), old-age pensioners ($500,000), LEAP assistance, ($600,000) and child-welfare services ($2.1 million).

Other budget highlights:

Road maintenance was budgeted for $3.3 million.
Operating funds for the new jail came to $3.5 million.
Another $350,000 was earmarked for remodeling the old jail into a rehabilitation and community-corrections center. Construction is expected to begin soon.
The county landfill was budgeted $749,000.
$500,000 was earmarked for the capital fund.

The county mill levy stayed the same at 14.254 mills. It is broken down into 10.338 mills to the county, 1.30 mills to social services and 2.616 for roads and bridges.

Assessed valuation for commercial and residential properties remained constant this year, leaving the mill levy at the same level, said Tom Weaver, county administrator.

The county mill levy contributes an estimated $3.3 million to county coffers. The remaining revenues come from charges for services and federal and state tax funds collected annually. A sales tax is funding bonds sold to pay for the new jail.

Under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), created by Douglas Bruce and passed by state voters in 1992, county mills are essentially frozen unless voters approve an increase, or vote to "de-Bruce" the limits set by the measure.

According to TABOR laws, if assessed valuations on property increase, then the mill levies must be lowered so that the difference, or surplus, goes back into the taxpayers’ pockets. De-Brucing allows the county to keep the extra funds collected from the mills levied at a higher property-assessment level. Prior to TABOR, governments could raise the mill levy up to 5.5 percent every year.

Weaver said there has not been a reason to de-Bruce because assessed valuations have stayed relatively constant and the county has no major surpluses to keep.

"There won’t be many budget changes as long as TABOR exists," he said.