County Adopts Budget; Sets Tax Rate
As expected, the Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court adopted a 2000-2001 budget Sept.21, projecting revenues of $2 million and expenditures of $2.4 million.
Before the court voted on the budget, County Judge Wilburn Bednar recommended that commissioners and all sheriff’s department personnel be included in the county’s pay raise, but the commissioners neither discussed nor took action on the recommendation. Therefore, county commissioners and county law enforcement personnel are excluded from recent county pay raises.
Also, the court removed funding for a third jailer from the budget after Commissioner Mark Halfmann reported that Deputy Sheriff Ken Zunker did not want to receive jailer’s pay.
Having held a public hearing Sept. 25 at which no one from the public appeared, the court on Sept. 28 set a tax rate of 51 cents per $100 valuation. According to available figures, the rate will increase total tax revenues by 7.96 percent from the preceding year, while taxes on the average homestead would decrease by $40.20 (18.32 percent).
The court also set a tax rate of 5 cents per $100 valuation on Sept. 28 to pay for bonds issued to finance construction of a community center.
Budget Amendments Approved
Fifty-eight budget amendments were approved by the court in closing out the county’s fiscal year, and an additional four amendments were approved for the community water supply system’s budget.
County Treasurer Alan Dierschke reported the county had approximately $512,000 in its reserves at the end of the fiscal year.
The court agreed to buy a $6,400 Jaws of Life power unit for the St. Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department; the SLVFD will use its own funds to purchase $4,300 worth of tools for the power unit.
County Judge Wilburn Bednar reported that the county recently received an $11,000 grant from TNRCC through the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission for the purchase of a tree shredder/chipper, which is to be delivered soon.