Commissioners trim budget requests

WORLAND – The Washakie County commissioners announced they reduced the proposed 2016-2017 fiscal year budget by $863,063 from submitted requests during Monday night’s budget hearing.

The $12.8 million budget is set to be approved today at the regular scheduled commissioner meeting.

Commission Chair Aaron Anderson said despite the trimmed down budget, they were able to keep personnel, with reduction in force for some part-time employees and no raises were given out.

Areas affected by the county’s reduction in budget were $25,000 in hospital board requests, in addition to all funding being cut to the Worland Senior Center and the Crisis Center.

Commissioner Terry Wolf said some of the entities that no longer receive funding by the county received money from the one cent sales tax and that “helped off-set some of it.”

Anderson added by the county opting out of the one cent sales tax, they left close to one million dollars in sales tax on the table to be divided by other entities.

Valuation

Anderson said “The county valuation for the year is $130,576,171,” and broke down the county’s mill levy for the fiscal year.

For the county’s total 12 mills, Anderson said the general county fund is budgeted at $1,268,362.45, which is 9.714 mills. The county fair is budgeted at $41,600, which is .319 mills.

The county library $181,916, which is 1.393 mills, and the county hospital maintenance is $75,000, which is .574 mills.

He added, “Just so everyone has a perspective in what we are trying to deal with on the mills (levy), we had a 19 percent decrease … which is $370,381 in actual dollars.”

A time for question and comment was allowed, and with none available, the commissioner adjourned their budget hearing.