The Marion County Board has voted to approve a $13,452,049 budget with a 2.9-percent property tax levy increase and a new 1-percent state mandate levy to fund a county veterans commission. The decision came at a special meeting on Friday to get the budget passed before the county’s new fiscal year begins on Monday, December 1st.
The initial vote did not pass by the required two-thirds majority, but Brock Waggoner changed his initial no vote to yes to allow for passage by a nine-to-three margin. Judith Meeks Hakim abstained because she had missed the last few meetings where the budget was finalized. No votes were cast by Tim McCance, Sharon Woodward, and Adam Smith. All three were unhappy about transfers that allowed $750,000 to be taken from the quarter-cent public safety tax to finance work to improve the accuracy of the county’s property tax assessments. Woodward wanted to hear from the Supervisor of Assessments, Mark Miller, before anything was done with the assessments.
Board Chair Steve Whritenour says while the $750,000 is set aside to reassess all commercial property in the county, there is still plenty of discussion ahead before a final decision is made.
“I hope over the next several months that we have a solid plan in place as far as getting the assessments in line. At the end of the day, property has to be reassessed every four years. Right now, we are not doing it. We have to figure out why, and we have to get the properties reassessed and get a solid plan in place where this happens, and get us, as a county, back in line with the rest of the state.”
Whritenour feels there are other good things in the budget, including a solution to the animal control program.
“We now have the ability to buy a facility. We’re buying from the City of Centralia with the tentative agreement we have. Now we have the ability to hire personnel, which we have to do. Right now, we have just one animal control officer and we desperately need more. But at the same time, we needed funding in place to do that. Now that the budget is approved, we have the ability to hire additional personnel. Our first committee meeting is coming up in December. We had seven people who applied for the animal control positions. We’ll be interviewing them and hopefully getting them hired by the end of the year.”
There is money in the budget to hire two new part-time animal control employees. The City of Centralia and the Marion County Board still have to give final approval to the purchase agreement.
Whritenour notes that the budget also includes money to cover an estimated 40 percent increase in electric bills.
Whritenour says even though the levy was increased by 2.9 percent, he feels the taxpayers are being treated fairly.
“That is going to capture about $300,000, but at the same time, with our tax rate going down, I think that is important too. It’s important to the taxpayers. You’re going to pay $14. 70 less per $100,000 assessed valuation.”
While board member Josh Dunahee had indicated at the regular meeting last Tuesday that he might still push for a 0% tax levy, he ultimately did not.
“Understanding and knowing that we moved $750,000 from the jail wages to the safety tax so we can start to address the issues we currently have in the assessors’ office that were found during the study, and then also knowing that the Marion County Highway Department will be funded. The voters, our people, the people we are responsible for, said yes, ‘we want a levy’, so that is why I voted yes.”
Dunahee asked those in the audience at the Tuesday meeting whether they were in favor of a property tax increase to improve roads, with only one person not raising their hand. Dunahee also pointed to the lower tax rate, even with the higher levy.
