BOC tries to hold down tax hike

And Commissioner Steve Worley said after Tuesday night’s BOC meeting that he is hoping for a better revenue picture than that predicted by Chief Appraiser Cecil Highfield.

Highfield has had a tendency since the start of the recession to set the revenue bar very low so that the county’s budget committee would not develop a spending plan for each fiscal year that could not be adequately funded.

Worley said even if Highfield’s prediction of a $2 million revenue drop for FY2012 is on the mark, the $31.8 million in projected spending could be supported with the 2.06-mill increase.

The proposed budget for the first time in the current board’s term includes a significant cushion for unanticipated expenses.

In addition to the $500,000 that Kisaalita asked the budget committee to add to the reserves, she found another $100,000 over the past few days that she believes can be put into reserves rather than transferred to the E-911 fund in FY2012.

The BOC took no action on the new budget Tuesday night. That vote is scheduled for Sept. 13.

However, within a few days the proposed budget will be available for public review at the county’s libraries and at the Finance Department.

The three public hearings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 23, before noon on Aug. 30, and 6 p.m. Sept. 6.

See complete story in the Aug. 10 print edition of the Barrow Journal, now on sale.