By Anita Firebaugh
Contributing Writer
Craig County officials are looking to lower the tax rate from $0.63 per $100 value to $0.52 per $100 value following the recent property reassessment. Dan Collins, county administrator, said that the Board of Supervisors would vote on the tax rate at a special meeting on April 18.
The Board held another special meeting on March 21, 2024 and held a public hearing on the effective tax rate following the reassessment. Collins said approximately10 people spoke, most with questions about the reassessment.
At that meeting, Collins gave the supervisors and audience a 52-page PowerPoint presentation on the tax rate and proposed upcoming fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.
The proposed tax rate would increase the tax payment for the average homeowner by about $55 annually, Collins said. The county performs reassessments every six years, which can make a big gap in land value from reassessment to reassessment, especially during times of rising inflation. Collins said that the average assessment prior to the 2023 reassessment was $82,738. After the reassessment, the same dwelling is now valued at $111,291. Property values increased on average about 35 percent.
The proposed tax rate would bring in approximately $853,128 in funding over last year, but the county is looking at a $1,276,550 increase in costs overall, according to Collins’ presentation. The county has reached into its fund balance for the last five years to balance the budget and pay its bills instead of raising taxes on citizens.
Collins said his PowerPoint presentation, though long, proved helpful to the public. “Several people said that they understood the budget more with the presentation,” Collins said. “It was full of information that they weren’t aware of. I was trying to explain the effect of cost of living and inflation and everything.”
The county’s biggest expense at the moment is the radio replacement for emergency services, including the sheriff’s office and all fire and EMS workers. At $4.7 million, it’s the newest strain on the budget. Collins said the county has most of the money in hand, but needs to come up with another $1.3 million. He also said that with an “antique radio system,” it’s an urgent necessity.
The county now has 68 employees, down from 73. Most of the county’s employees are part-time. The positions that are presently unfilled are at the solid waste disposal area and a few at the county courthouse, Collins said. In his presentation, Collins noted that the county has trouble now meeting service needs of citizens with such a bare-bones staff.
In his presentation, Collins noted that inflation has played havoc with the local county budget, much as it has everyone’s personal budget. According to his presentation, inflation over the last 10 years has increased prices for most things by about 27 percent.
He also stated that the county’s goals are to stop using the fund balance to balance the budget. The fund balance should be used for one-time capital improvement projects only, Collins said, such as the radio replacement.
The supervisors are having their regular meeting along with a budget meeting with the school board on April 4.
