County Court Lowers Tax Rate, Sets Budget
The Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court set the tax rate for 2004-2005 at .47891 plus .05 debt service for a total of .52891 per $100 valuation at its regular meeting Sept. 13. Last year’s rate was .59252 and the effective rate was .51351. The new rate will raise $2,047,803 in revenue and another $326,000 will come from various fees, such as those from auto registrations, and sheriff’s, clerk’s, and JP’s offices.
The court also adopted a budget with $2.4 million in expected revenue with budgeted expenditures of $2.6 million. The county’s reserves currently stand at approximately $700,000, according to County Treasurer Alan Dierschke.
In addition to salaries, which are detailed elsewhere in this newsletter, major items of the new budget include $104,000 for two emergency rescue vehicles (one each for St. Lawrence and Garden City), $50,000 for two sheriff’s department vehicles; $100,000 for road repair supplies and upkeep, $60,000 for fuels, $75,000 for road building materials, $200,000 for seal coating and paving, $40,000 for valuation engineers in the appraisal district, and $150,000 for insurance other than employee medical insurance.
Other Major Expenses
Other major budget items are $35,000 for courthouse repairs and upkeep, including a central air and heat system, $12,000 in landfill expenses, $50,000 in a miscellaneous fund, $164,000 in an indigent health care fund (required by state law; eight percent of ad valorem taxes), $22,000 for community center operating expenses, and a $143,000 payment on the community center.
Reserves in the interest and sinking fund for debt on the community center now stand at $182,000; a result of tax revenue being more than is required in annual payments on the debt. These reserves should allow the bond tax rate to be lowered in 2005-2006 and the debt to be paid off early. Dierschke says the center is bringing in about $1,000 per year in rental income.
Water System Budget Approved
The court also adopted a $54,000 budget for the Garden City Water System, with possible expenses of $59,000. Income from water sales is projected to be $53,000, with interest and miscellaneous income providing the balance of revenues.
Much of the water system’s expense is for salaries: $16,800 for manager Jim Havlak with the new raise, plus $4,800 in benefits, and $6,000 for administrator Alan Dierschke (no raise). Insurance takes another $12,000. Repairs and upkeep are allocated $6,000 and electricity requires $9,000. The system currently has reserves of $56,000.
Bednar to Head County’s Homeland Security
At a special meeting of the Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court Aug. 26, County Judge Wilburn Bednar volunteered to become the county’s Homeland Security Coordinator when no one else offered to take the job. Bednar said, as the county judge, he is ultimately responsible for the county’s Homeland Security (HS) preparations. The action came after Kenny Batla informed Bednar that he no longer wanted to be responsible for the county’s HS work in addition to his part-time job as the county’s emergency management coordinator. Batla had earlier cited the overall complexity, enormous amount of paperwork and time requirements as problems involved with the HS work. The court voted to pay Bednar an annual supplement of $1,200 for the work, and to pay Batla a retroactive $1,500 for the HS work he has done over the past two years.