It is budget time at the Commissioners office and we have gone through the first phase of setting the 2011 budget. There will be some, but not much, revision between now and late November when the actual budget hearing will be set. The revenue numbers will not change very much so the expenditure side will receive the most time and concentration.

            The assessed valuation of the county dropped from $39,183,380.00 for 2010 to $32,417,940 for 2011, a net reduction of $6,765,440.00.  Next year, each mill of tax levy will produce $6,765.44 less revenue than it did this year. So, County General will see a reduction of  ($211,305.00); Road and Bridge-($20,296.00); Public welfare -($12,178.00); Capital expenditures -($6765); Public hospital fund -($33,827.00); Retirement fund-($4735) and Prairie Pines-($25,844.00).

            The loss in assessed valuation came primarily from Oil and gas production and property, to the extent of minus $7,496,930.00. There was actually some increase in residential, commercial, agriculture, severed minerals and state assessed property resulting in the net loss of $6,765,440.00. 

            The job now is to reduce expenditures to fit the generated revenue. We got a pretty good start on this last week and will do more in the days ahead. I believe we are within about $38,000.00 of getting the thing balanced.  Maybe in the next few articles, some of the expenditure reductions can be outlined.

            We intend to make it come out even. Making budgets come out even- or not- ,  goes back a long ways. Will Rogers observed that, “Alexander Hamilton started the US Treasury with nothing… and that was the closest our country ever came to being even!”