Despite the possibility of the county going into the red by nearly $2 million the coming year, the county commission shot down a proposed 29 cent tax increase leaving DeKalb working under an emergency budget extension until something can get worked out.
“Maybe we’re close on a few things that can be worked out,” suggested County Commissioner Bruce Malone after the proposed budget failed by a count of 5-6.
The budget committee had approved the tax hike that went before the whole commission Monday night, the members of the committee saying the county would need to extra funds to cover everything in the proposed budget. The 29 cents on $100 assessment would have meant property taxes would go up from $1.83 to $2.12.
The absences of county commissioners Beth Pafford, Jeanie Trapp and Anita Puckett at the meeting left the vote with no wiggle room as eight votes were required to pass the budget. Instead, just 11 commissioners voted on the measure.
With the failure to pass the budget, the county will go into a holding pattern. Since the commissioned passed a continuing budget provision Monday night, DeKalb will operate under its present budget until a new budget can be approved. County Mayor Tim Stribling pointed out county employees will still get paid but any proposed raises going into the coming year will not be reflected on their paychecks until the 2019-2020 budget is approved.
The next step on getting a budget will begin July 10 when a budget meeting has been called. While there is no exact time table for passing the budget, Stribling pointed out that the school system is required to file their budget by Aug. 15 so the county would need something in place by then, whether it included a tax increase or not. The proposed tax hike did not include money the school board is expected to ask for in its quest to build a K-2 school on the campus of Northside to replace Smithville Elementary.
The shooting down of the county tax hike came on the eve of the city of Smithville voting Tuesday night on a 25 cent tax hike for property owners in the city. The measure has already passed 3-2 on first reading.
