By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
A final review of the 2021 budget by Ellis County commissioners Monday keeps the mill levy at 36.91, unchanged from 2020.
Several revisions were made to the initial budget draft which was presented prior to passage of two county sales tax ballots by voters in early April.
Two one-quarter-cent sales taxes will go into effect Oct. 1. That money will be used to fund health care services in Ellis County and for general operations. The taxes will expire in 10 years.
Minor changes to the balanced budget include salary and health care decisions, along with funding requests from outside agencies.
The Fire District has a slight increase from 3.73 mills to 4.27 mills to compensate for the decline in oil prices.
"We was able to restore funding to High Plains Mental Health and do a lot of things that was necessary in the community," said Commissioner Dean Haselhorst.
Ellis County Administrator J.D. Cox added some unexpected good news regarding cash carryover following the budget audit.
"We don't have it yet but we've learned the 2019 numbers are going to finish quite a bit ahead of where the previous projections were on it, to the tune of about a million dollars," Cox told the commission.
"That is really good news for our reserves. We can carry those funds over as we move into the future."
"Great job to my fellow commissioners, department heads, elected officials," added Haselhorst.
Commissioners also thanked Fire/Emergency Manager Darin Myers, who served as acting county administrator following the departure of Phillip Smith-Hanes in late November. Cox was hired on June 22.
"If we look back about five years, we've depleted our rollover by about 60 percent, from about $6.3 million down to $2.5 million," Myers noted.
Myers also said nearly 99 percent of all revenue that is budgeted has been collected.
"The biggest portion of what is remaining is our PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) tax for the wind farm and we don't usually collect that until later in the fall. ... It's around $860,000."
In continued discussion about cash reserves, Cox recommended the county aim for 20 percent of spending.
"You don't tax just to put money in the bank. You tax to deliver services, but then also to be able to set some aside in case you need it," said Cox.
Commissioner Dustin Roths thinks it will be a major focus of future commissions.
"Where do we need to be in unencumbered cash? How much should we be taxing the public in order to do the things they expect from us?" he said.
Roths said it will take planning to determine the county's financial future when the sales taxes expire in 10 years.
"From the county's side, what can the public expect when that goes away, as well as from their side, deciding whether they like the level of services that they're getting in Ellis County right now," he said. "I believe that's what they decided in the sales tax election as well as that they wanted money spent on our road infrastructure, which we're going to do. We have to do it."
The proposed 2021 budget general fund expenditures are $21,854,742 and revenues estimated at $21,855,646. There is $2,618,156 in expenditure authority for other budgeted funds of Ellis County, and $637,254 for the Ellis County Fire District expenditures. The 2021 capital plan includes expenditures of up to $5,678,699 from non-budgeted reserve funds.
A public hearing on the budget will be held Aug. 10.
In other business, the commission:
ā¢ Approved increasing the clerk administrative position from a three-quarters time position to a full-time position. The increase is included in the 2021 budget.
ā¢ Approved a federal grant-funded position of case manager to the Ellis County Drug Court.