Commissioners to hold public hearing for proposed budget

A public hearing on Fiscal Year 2014 Proposed Budget will be held during a special Jackson County Commissioners’ Court meeting on Monday, Sept. 16 at 9 a.m.

Commissioners will consider adopting the budget and approving the adoption of the Jackson County tax rate for tax year 2013.

The total tax rate in the proposed budget is $0.3866 per $100 valuation, which is $0.046 less than the current $0.4326 tax rate. 

The 2014 proposed budget will raise less revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget by $90,728, which is a 1.68 percent decrease from last year’s budget. The property tax revenue to be raised from the new property added to the tax roll this year is set at $41,184.04.   

Total revenues in the proposed budget is $7,668,029 and total expenditures in the proposed budget is $8,971,308, which means this is a deficit budget, according to County Judge Dennis Simons.

"The budget reflects a conservative estimate of expected revenue, and at the same time, contains line items for capital expenditures that may or may not happen in the next budget year," Simons said.

The over 65 and disabled exemption freezes the value of a qualifying homestead at a ceiling established at the time the property qualifies, he said. The estimate is that there will be approximately $287,000 less tax collected due to these exemptions. 

Two items added to the budget this year deal with road maintenance for county roads. Approximately $200,000 was added to purchase road equipment that will be used by all precincts and save by not having multiple pieces of the same equipment that are used by only one precinct. Simons said the budget adds another $200,000 for road materials to be used by all precincts. This will help commissioners be able to repair more miles of worn roads in their precincts that have deteriorated over time. 

"By purchasing this equipment  it should save the county in the long run by saving time and building a road that will last longer," he said.

The sheriff's office and corrections (jail) are the largest expenses of the county. Simons said the Sheriff's office provides public safety to the citizens of Jackson County.

"The most visible aspect is the patrol officers that patrol the roads and respond to emergency calls," he said. " An unseen duty of the Sheriff’s office is providing dispatch for all 911 calls in the county along with covering for other emergency entities in the county during non-business hours.  The Sheriff’s office employs six full-time dispatchers in order to have 24/7/365 coverage. The jail provides lock-up facilities for all of the county, including the cities of Edna and Ganado. This is provided at no cost to the other entities.  The number of correction officers on duty at any one time is mandated by state jail standards and must be strictly adhered to in order to maintain our certification."

The proposed budget is based on the 2013 estimated assessed valuation of $1,327,322,899 and deductions for delinquencies of 2 percent, a tax levy thereon will produce approximately $130,077 per one penny tax levy. 

“I think that the item of most interest to the residents of Jackson County is that the county will be able to provide the same, or in some cases, enhanced services with a decrease in local property taxes of 10.6%,” Simons said.