A look at the county budget

             It is once again budget time in Wright County. City and of course county officials have been hard at work in budget workshops, preparing for hearings that will give the ok for the next fiscal year’s budgets. With that in mind, a glance at the Wright County budget is in order. Though much of the proposed budget was published in the Monitor’s legal notice section a couple of weeks ago, a few highlights may be helpful.

               As was previously noted, the General Basic tax levy in the county will be going up from $4.00 to $4.20 per thousand dollars of taxable value and the Rural Services levy went from $3.45756 up to $3.75 per thousand dollars of taxable value.  However, with the state taking over Mental Health funding, the county Mental Health levy decreased .25693 from last year. In the end, the net difference in the County levy rate is an increase of 17.56 cents per thousand. 

               As detailed in a story a few weeks ago, if an individual ultimately pays more or less on the county portion of their taxes than last year depends on a variety of factors, including where they live in the county. For instance, people who live on rural acreages and do not farm will see some of the bigger tax increases in the county due to the Rural Services Levy going up.

               In the explanation of the budget, it is noted that the overall levy increase is partially due to staffing and wage adjustments. County officials have argued that these raises are necessary to keep good staff without interruptions in service, especially when it comes to law enforcement and dispatchers.

The communication center is also marked to be supplemented at a higher rate again next year, with the county putting in an extra $260,000 in addition to what the cities contribute per 28E agreements. Auditor Betty Ellis notes though that the county was fortunate that health insurance rates actually went down slightly.  

              Ellis pointed out that with the slight increase in the levy rate that the Board of Supervisors is not cutting any services to the citizens and are still funding $500,000 for Public Health in the next fiscal year, despite the reorganization to the department.

               She added that the Debt Service levy is similar to where it has been at in recent years. The county will be paying on roof and building repairs to the courthouse as well as other courthouse projects. They will also be paying on the communications systems debt.

               Overall, Ellis said she feels that the county is in good shape moving forward into the next fiscal year. She added that she is grateful for the predicted $2.4 million that the county will receive through the federal American Rescue Plan. “We will be able to complete a lot of one-time improvements we might not have otherwise gotten to do and take the burden for those off the taxpayers,” said Ellis.

               The hearing to approve the county budget is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday, March 14 during the county supervisors meeting. Citizens are invited to join the public hearing in person or on Zoom, information for which is available on the county’s website.

Quick Glance at the Proposed FY 2022-2023 Budget

Area of Budget                                         2022-2023

Public Safety                                                  $5,438,199

Public Health & Social Services                   $1,235,461                                       

Mental Health                                                              $ 0

County Environment and Education         $1,681,012

Roads                                                              $6,474,937

Administration and Services                       $4,480,279

Debt Service                                                    $3,838,414

Capital Projects                                             $99,174

Total Operating Costs                                 $23,247,476