Board members all agreed on one thing: the county's population has grown over the past year. Naturally, upkeep and operations now cost more money.
However, some board members worried about the jump from $508 million last year to $590 million this year. Part of the increase is due to federal money given out during the pandemic, Commissioner Dane Scalise noted:
“But let’s be clear, those ARPA funds will not last forever. And when those temporary federal dollars are gone, we commissioners are going to have to determine whether the programs and initiatives created by those funds can be sustained in perpetuity by our taxpayers and our local dollars.”
Commissioners agreed to amend the budget to include a property tax cut, but did not agree on the amount.
Commissioner LeAnn Pierce pushed for a one-cent decrease, citing the rising cost of living due to economic inflation all over the country:
“I felt like to give back $5 million to the taxpayers out of $590 million was putting money back in their pockets and their households.”
She was the lone no vote on this finalized budget, because she wanted a bigger property tax cut. The four other commissioners went ahead with a half-cent tax cut.
