The annual Truth in Taxation public hearing was held on December 13. County coordinator Bobbie Vickerman presented an overview of 2016 and took a look into 2017.
During 2016, the county has been active in efforts to get the formula for County Program Aid revised by state. County aid was increased in 2016, but like many rural counties, Fillmore County has seen reductions in CPA over the last decade.
The county continues to work to upgrade roads and bridges and has been instrumental in getting wastewater improvements, which are complete in Greenleafton and have begun in Cherry Grove.
The policy over the last three years is to increase the county’s fund balance to meet state standards. Vickerman said the county continues to look for efficiencies across departments.
The county’s Road Preservation Plan is updated each year. Local Sales Tax has allowed for additional road improvements.
Fillmore County continues to participate in the state performance measurement. Many of the goals have been met. A goal to get tobacco use to the national benchmark was not met. The performance measure was 14% and the county was at 16%, according to County Health Rankings.
The county is one of the most successful in the state in Child Support collections. Nearly $10 is collected for every $1 spent. In 2015, the county was able to meet its goal of maintaining 85% of veterans receiving services or benefits.
Another goal is to keep the debt service levy under 11%; the debt service levy was at 2.87% for 2015. The recycling rate was at 44%, which exceeded the goal of 38%.
2017 Goals
Some of these include maintaining and building the fund balance, adopting and implementing the Airport Master Plan, and evaluating shared positions.
The county will implement payroll management system, fully implement mobile technology in squad cars, and request proposal for one vendor for copy machines and printers across departments.
2017 Levy
The county board will set the 2017 budget and levy at their next meeting. The preliminary levy showed an 8% increase. The probable final levy will have been reduced to a 6% increase.
In 2016 the total tax levy was $9,312,189, or $446.29 per capita. The proposed 2017 levy