CLARK CO. BOARD PASSES BUDGET
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 -- 2:44 PM
Clark County has a budget for 2012.After hearing from a handful of citizens at their annual budget hearing Monday morning, the Board of Supervisors amended the budget to include more money for highway repair, but the change didn?t impact the tax levy.
The $54.73 million spending plan passed on a 25-3 vote.
While projected expenditures are actually down from the current year, the amount of money coming from local taxpayers will jump $251,923 to $12,885,055.
And because the county's equalized value dipped for the second straight year, the tax rate will increase 24 cents per thousand dollars of property to $7.45.
[b]FUNDING INCREASED FOR HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE [/b]
While the budget was met with approval from most on the board, the state of the Clark County highway system was the elephant in the room.
Revenue limits have driven down the levy dollars available for paving; at the same time, the cost of materials has skyrocketed. The proposed budget included enough funding to pave 7.8 miles of county roads, putting the system on a 40-year paving cycle, documents showed.
And a looming change to the federal cost-sharing program could slash funding further.
On a vote of 17-11, the board passed an amendment to take $160,000 from the general fund to be used for crack filling and chip sealing.
Highway Commissioner Randy Anderson said the money would allow them to cover an additional 10 miles of road in 2012, though the maintenance would only last about five years.
[b]CLARK ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. TARGETED[/b]
The Clark County Economic Development Corporation survived several attempts to amend the budget to partially de-fund the organization.
One amendment that would have moved $80,000 to the Highway Department from the CCEDC's $100,000 budget line was defeated 6-22.
Another amendment would have taken $36,750 from the CCEDC and moved it to the UW-Extension to hire a Community, Natural Resource and Economic Development (CNRED) agent.
That motion was defeated 12-16.
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