An article in the Thursday, July 23 Idaho Press Tribune incorrectly stated that Canyon County would not be raising its levy rate for the upcoming fiscal year. In fact, while the county will collect less property taxes, and will not take the 3 percent increase allowed by law, the levy rate will likely increase by approximately 10 percent. Below is the press release that was sent to the Idaho Press Tribune Wednesday, July 22.
As Canyon County officials work through the budget process, cutting proposed expenditures nearly $10 million from 2009 levels, they are looking at ways to maximize services for the smallest possible cost to taxpayers.
“We want to keep the taxes as low as possible, while still providing necessary services,” Commission Chair David Ferdinand said.
The preliminary budget is for $68,573,209, down from nearly $79 million in FY09. Of that amount, about $36.4 million will come from property taxes. The commissioners have decided that even though the law allows them to increase their property tax 3 percent over last year, they did not want to take that increase, which means the budget could have been $3.4 million higher.
“It was really important to us as commissioners to leave as much money in the taxpayers’ pockets as we could,” said Commissioner Kathy Alder. “It’s also important to note that the levy rate is lower than it was in both the FY06 and FY07 budgets. Everyone in the county is doing what they can to keep expenses down.”
The budget is still in the preliminary phase, and will see changes between now and Aug. 13, when the Board of Commissioners is set to sign the tentative budget, but what is clear is the “don’t spend” mentality that has been actively used in the courthouse for the past year and a half will continue into the 2010 budget year.
“With the decrease in the budget, and the fact that we’ve left many positions open in the past 18 months, citizens may see a decrease in services,” Commissioner Steve Rule said. “Some department are closing early, or closed one day of the week. That’s just a sign of the times; the tradeoff for keeping taxes low is you might not receive the same service you did previously.”
Some changes to the FY10 budget from FY09 include a new position in the Treasurer’s Office to help manage investments to get the best rate of return, inclusion of money to put a new, ADA-compliant door on the front of the courthouse and repair the roof on the Southwest Idaho Juvenile Detention Center, and the addition of money for police vehicles and renovation/remodel of the Dale Haile jail.
Additionally, the upcoming budget restores county employees’ salaries to what they were before the 2.5 percent decrease was enacted in March.
“We hope we’re able to keep the salary restoration in the budget for the entire year,” Commissioner David Ferdinand said. “County employees are making sacrifices for the benefit of the taxpayer, and we want to honor our commitment to our employees and show that they are valued.”
Another important part of the proposed budget, Ferdinand said, is the focus on economic development and using some funding to help create new jobs in Canyon County.
Estimating revenue is always a guessing game, officials said, but for the most part, the county is making very conservative estimates, and hoping the revenue comes in at those levels or higher.