The overview
The county adopted a property tax rate of $0.3304 per $100 valuation—a 4% increase over the no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.3177, according to agenda documents.
The rate increase will generate an estimated $5.7 million in additional revenue, $2.9 million of which comes from new property growth, according to the county’s proposed budget document. The increase is driven by investments in public safety, infrastructure, personnel and emergency response.
The $114.54 million budget includes 33 new full-time positions, including 24 in public safety positions, according to budget documents. A 3% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is included for eligible employees.
Public safety received the largest funding increase across departments, including a $1.5 million investment in a countywide body camera and in-car video system for all certified peace officers.
Offering input
Precinct 4 Commissioner Stephen Germann said the budget was “very conservative but well-meaning” in its prioritizing of public safety.
“We have to provide services to our citizens for safety, for a place for them to drive, and [for] the extensive growth that we are having,” Germann said.
County Judge Kyle Kutscher said he understands any feelings of frustration about a tax rate increase, but that the county is trying to be “proactive to what’s coming.”
“We’re trying to look not just at this year, or next year, but three to five years from now. Where our county is going, where we need to be and what that structure has to be to be able to support the types of projects that we’re going to be required to build,” Kutscher said.
