County completes budget

The Sanders County budget has been approved after a couple months of wondering whether or not money would from the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. The federal subsidy pumped $1.5 million into roads and schools, and its expiration this year forced Sanders County to scramble for money.

The Sanders County total budget is set at $10,108,146 and is broken down into different departments. There is $1,705,362 in the reserve and a total of $4,547,647 in cash available. Property tax revenue totaled $2,615,275 and the total non-tax revenue was $8,958,253. The total resources for the 2008-09 budget is $11,813,528.

The general fund budget, which is mainly used for county employee salaries was set at $4,098,798, with $1,049,510 in reserve making the total resources available for the general fund $5,148,308. The road fund budget was set at $2,137,496 and the bridge fund budget was set at $375,000. Weed control will get $234,511 for their budget and the county fair got $512,380. The county set aside $396,209 for the airport fund and $180,000 for comprehensive insurance. The emergency fund is set to received $60,046 and the office of emergency management is set to receive $59,109. Public safety and law is set to received $1,965,932 and the permissive medical levy is set to receive $68,584.

The county budget is a little smaller than last year’s budget, but most department budgets stayed the same because of a mill levy passed last year, to use to help bolster the county’s budget.

“All in all, we need this money to operate,” Sanders County Commissioners Chair Carol Brooker said. “We really couldn’t afford to cut all that much.”

The mil yield for the county is $31,301.76, which is a little more than last year’s mill yield of $30,000. There were nine mils proposed this year totaling $91.27. There is a mil of $32.83 for the general fund, $14.61 for the road fund, $2.50 for weed control, $2 for the county fair, $.50 for comprehensive insurance, $2.00 for the emergency fund, $33 for public safety, $2.83 for the permissive medical levy, and $1 for the office of emergency management.

The commissioners began working on the budget in May and got it completed after several uncertain weeks where they did not know whether the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act would pass.

The timber money from this act had made up about 40 percent of the road budget for Sanders County, with about a third of the money going directly to the public schools in Sanders County. However, with the extra mills, the budget was able to stay right around the level where it was at last year.

The budget passed unanimously and is currently on file at the Sanders County Courthouse in the clerk and recorder’s office if anyone is interested at looking at the budget in its entirety.