The Flathead County Commission voted unanimously this week to pass the county’s $81.3 million budget for fiscal year 2011.
According to Flathead County Administrator Mike Pence, the county will start the year with a projected balance of $37.8 million, a figure made of both tax and non-tax funds. Total revenue, from tax and non-tax sources, is expected to be $78.6 million. With $81.3 million in expenditures planned, the county will have a projected ending balance of $35.1 million.
“The county has a good cash balance situation presently because of our ongoing efforts over the past five and a half years,” Pence wrote in his report to the commissioners.
Flathead County currently has 516 full-time employees, including seasonal and temporary workers, representing a major portion of the total budget. There are no cost-of-living increases in the budget for county personnel, but there are longevity payments figured in for public safety employees and other employees who have been with the county for at least five years.
A tough economy and decreasing revenues forced eight layoffs in the past two years, Pence reported. The county also opted not to fill 16 vacated positions. Some of the positions may be filled in the future as the economy improves, Pence wrote.
The total market value for the county increased from $7.7 billion to $8.2 billion, and the county’s new taxable value was certified at $231 million, up from $224 million.
The tax levy increased by 9.87 mills, now at 145.62 mills compared to 135.75 mills last year. However, Pence noted that the commissioners significantly reduced the mill levy last year to “allow them to freeze the total property tax asking.” By putting the mills at 145.62, the county is at the same levy level it was in 2009, Pence said.
The value of a countywide mill is now $222,786, which is an increase from last year’s $215,926. The county’s total property tax asking for 2011 is $30.8 million. It was $27.7 million for both 2009 and 2010.
This means a property owner with $150,000 market-value property will see an approximate $13 increase for the county’s portion of the property tax bill, whereas the same owner saw a $42 decrease last year, Pence said.
“Our largest source of revenue comes from property taxes that are collected two months out of the year, so we need adequate balances for our operations,” Pence wrote. “It will continue to be a challenge to maintain healthy balances as growth has slowed significantly.”
The commissioners voted to approve the budget, noting that Flathead County has favorable cash balances compared to other counties in the state.
“Flathead County is one of the counties in Montana that is in good shape,” Commissioner Joe Brenneman said. “The work’s not done.”
Commissioner Dale Lauman said he believes the county will continue to face a difficult economy, and thanked the department directors for their willingness to trim expenditures.
“Economic times are not great. I don’t see a change coming very rapidly,” Lauman said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel, we just don’t know how long the tunnel is.”
Commissioner Jim Dupont also thanked the county’s employees for complying with tighter budgets without complaining, adding that the county is working hard on economic development to bring in jobs.
The budget also includes “significant funding” for the county’s capital improvement program, coming in this year at $6,637,540 compared to last year’s $5,109,669.