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2008 County Budget Hearings - You are Invited! |
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Written by Anton K Neff
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Tuesday, 21 August 2007 16:08 |
As our District Two County Council member, I have information to share with you concerning County Budget Hearings.
On September 5th, 6th, and 7th the Owen County Council will be conducting annual budget hearings at the Courthouse. Here is a schedule for the first two days--the third day may not be used:
2008 County Budget Hearings Schedule - Days 1 & 2
Budget hearings are open to the public and are designed to provide an opportunity for taxpayers to voice any concerns they may have. As your County Council member representing District Two, I invite you to be a part of the process. If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about the process, please ask.
Our County Auditor had provided budget data to me and I created an electronic copy in PDF format of the budget requests for you. Here is a link to view all of the requests:
2008 Budget Requests
Many decisions for 2008 are going to be made at these hearings based on these requests and matching them with the short-term and long-term challenges we have to address. In addition, we have to review current budget appropriations and consider the state's financial projections for our county.
There are a couple of comments I want to make which may help put the process into perspective:
BUDGET REQUESTS
The 2008 budget requests are simply that--REQUESTS. By law, we have to advertise budget amounts in advance of the hearings. The advertised amounts are always much much higher than what is approved because it gives us maximum flexibility in addressing the demand for our services and making adjustments. So, please do not be alarmed at things that may seem very high in dollar amount. As a Council member, my duty is to review each line item carefully, establish/justify needs, and match that up with priorities on any amounts before final approval.
GOVERNMENT FUNDING
All county government services are funded from a variety of different revenue sources.
There has been a lot of news coverage about property taxes. Depending on whether you live in the Town of Spencer or out in Washington Township, county government services only pull between 14% and 17% of each property tax dollar you pay. This is a small portion of the overall amount of property tax you pay. Here is a breakdown for 2007:
District Two Property Tax Breakdown per Dollar
In addition to property tax, other county revenue sources include, but are not limited to, income tax, motor vehicle taxes, service fees, 911 surcharges, interest, and state-distributed money.
Thank you for your time today. Additional information about the County Council, myself, and local government can be found on this website. Please feel free to contact me with your questions/concerns. |
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County Property Tax Rates Released |
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Written by Anton K Neff
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Wednesday, 04 April 2007 20:12 |
The Auditor's office has recently released the 2007 tax rates. An official copy of the rate sheet is available in that office on the second floor of the courthouse. I would like to put a good word in for the hard work and diligence of our local officials in getting all components in place for the approval and release of these rates.
In addition to the rate sheet, I have also taken the rate information for our District and created a resource that you may also find valuable. It splits out each property tax dollar you pay by each taxing unit.
All of this information is available on this District 2 Council website at the following link:
http://www.antonkarlneff.com/store/index.php?cid=8
I welcome your feedback and any questions you may have. |
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Owen County Property Tax Information and Payments Now Online |
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Written by Anton K Neff
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Tuesday, 13 March 2007 15:04 |
There is a new service available to property taxpayers of our county--online payment of property tax with credit/debit cards. This service was brought to you through arrangements made by our Treasurer, Tami Snodgrass, as well as our County Commissioners. This may be a convenient feature for folks--particularly for people who own property, but live out of Owen County. In addition, if you lost your statement, or simply want to look at your property statements (or statements for others as well), you can now do so...and let's face it, we don't always get off work during courthouse hours. With this new system, payments can be made in the evening and on weekends. Please visit:
http://www.owentax.net
The system is not 100% operable and taxes due May 10th are not processed quite yet, but please explore the system and if you see anything that is incorrect or if you find any glitches, please contact the Treasurer's office ASAP at 812-829-5011. |
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Security Center/EMS Payment |
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Written by Anton K Neff
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Monday, 12 March 2007 11:06 |
As you may have recently read in the Evening World newspaper, Owen County taxpayers will get a little bit of a break on their property taxes this year. There are several variables that impact the total rate and amount of property tax we pay, but one variable will lower our total rate by approximately .0437 (2006 rate). For the last 20 years, a special rate dedicated to cover the cost of building our new (in 1987) jail and EMS building had been charged. With that debt being paid off later this year, 2007 taxes will see a slight rate decrease and 2008 will see the entire rate eliminated.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
**Per an update late February, the last payment was able to be made at the very end of the year (2006), thus the entire rate will be eliminated for 2007 taxes. |
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Medical Transport Service (MTS) To Be Discontinued |
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Written by Anton K Neff
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Friday, 08 December 2006 15:15 |
There have been recent developments concerning our county's Medical Transport Service (MTS). This is a service is a separate from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) although the MTS program had been managed by the EMS Director and County Commissioners.
It is safe to assume that many folks may not know the background on this issue or quite understand how the recent Commissioners’ decision to discontinue the service came about.
From a budgetary standpoint since MTS was created, expenses and income concerning MTS were simply a part of the county's EMS budget. The MTS service was widely touted as a money-making service, and, with such money-making ability within a stressed (at the time) EMS budget, it was a welcome way to help the bottom line.
About 3 years ago, there was a County Council debate concerning the actual profitability of MTS. Does it help of hurt the EMS budget? An interim plan to have a separate MTS “reimbursement” fund (where revenue was collected and then used to supplement the EMS budget) was later frowned upon by the State Board of Accounts.
To comply with State Board of Accounts guidelines and to put the impact of this service to the test, the County Council created a separate standing MTS fund and corresponding budget two years ago. Money that only concerns MTS was collected and expenses that only concerns MTS were spent from this fund.
The County Council made a commitment to give this program a chance. As long as it at least broke even each year, the service by itself would work.
During the budget hearings this past September, the County Council approved an MTS budget for 2007 (its third year under the new structure). At the November council meeting, however, it was called to our attention that expenses are not matching up with revenue for the end of 2006. In addition, vehicle expenses were becoming a concern. With costs exceeding revenue projections and the need for investment into vehicles and vehicle repair, the future of this service did not look positive.
Since the November Council meeting, the Board of Commissioners reviewed the issues and unanimously voted to discontinue the service.
It is always unfortunate to lose a valuable service like MTS, but that doesn’t make this a poor decision. I feel confident that a lot of creativity, patience, and opportunity were given to this service in an effort to make it work. There was ample communication concerning MTS management. The EMS Director had done an outstanding job with the service. Considering the now-established impact it can have on the EMS budget and lack of alternative revenue sources the County Council has to work with, the service is not self supportive.
Hopefully you find this background information valuable. Your input and feedback on this issue is important—please send me an email or contact me as I would be happy to discuss it with you. |
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