Published Friday, January 10, 2003
55% in 2 years
Herald Staff Writer
Mercer County taxpayers gathered at the county commissioners' meeting Thursday to voice their opinions about the 2003 budget, which calls for an 18.9 percent property tax increase and cost-of-living raises for county employees.
The current tax bill is set at 17.25 mills, a 2.75-mill increase over last year. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property value; assessments are a property's 1970 market value. At 17.25 mills, a home assessed at $15,000 carries a tax bill of $259. Each mill of property tax brings the county about $1 million.
In 2001, commissioners changed the property tax assessment ratio from 33.3 percent of a property's 1970 market value to 100 percent. The move, which took effect last year, essentially slashed all millage to a third of its fomer level.
Glenn Dosch, who protested in front of the courthouse after commissioners approved the tax increase, was the first resident to speak Thursday.
He asked if commissioners had any other means of raising money for county government.
Commissioner Chairman Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman told Dosch that a state statute limits the county to property taxes as its main means of income. He added that commissioners are lobbying the Legislature for "tax fairness," that is, a way to spread the tax burden evenly among all residents.
Dosch, who owns four properties in the county, said his concern was not for himself, but for senior citizens and other people on fixed incomes.
Michael DeForest, who is director of the county revenue department, told Dosch that seniors on Social Security are eligible for tax rebates for a portion of their county property taxes, available through the state Lottery program.
"All they have to do is come in and fill out the forms," DeForest said. The forms are also available from the Mercer County Agency on Aging, he said.
Dosch also questioned the wisdom of raising taxes at a time when the economy is ailing.
"We've lost many jobs in the county," Dosch said. "Our wages are down, and our taxes keep going up."
Other residents echoed Dosch's opinions on the raises for county employees. Many of those who spoke were retired and on fixed incomes.
One resident from Jackson Center pointed out that his property taxes had increased by a sizable amount in the last two years. County taxes increased by 36 percent for 2002 and 18.9 percent for 2003.
"That's almost 60 percent in two years," he said. "That's just bad planning."
Dosch also questioned if commissioners and other elected officials had done all they could to "trim the fat" out of the budget for this year.
According to budget projections, the county expects to have about $1.5 million in the bank at the end of 2003. The county ended 2002 by having to borrow about $500,000 to make ends meet.
Controller Thomas Amundsen had called the extra money "sound financial planning" when commissioners mulled the budget at their last meeting.
Commissioners called on several elected officials, including District Attorney James Epstein, Clerk of Courts and Register of Wills Kathleen Kloos and Sheriff William Romine to testify about the increased workload and decreasing staffs of their departments.