Potter County adopts budget and sets proposed tax rate; schedules public hearing for Sept. 22

The Potter County Commissioners Court adopted the proposed fiscal-year budget Monday and set a proposed property tax rate and public hearing date on a tax increase. The court voted to adopt the budget as presented and later proposed a total rate of 0.59024 per $100 valuation (with a maintenance & operations component of 0.54946 and a debt component of 0.04078). The court scheduled the public hearing and final vote on the tax rate for Sept. 22 at 9 a.m.

County Auditor Brandon presented forecast figures and explained that the county’s unassigned fund balance had grown in recent years — partly due to federal ARPA transfers — but cautioned about using fund balance for recurring salary increases. Commissioners repeatedly asked staff to model recurring vs. one-time funding so that pay increases are paired with stable revenue sources rather than sustained out of reserves.

Commissioners approved a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment applied countywide (action approved by court vote, 5–0 during the meeting) and separately approved several one-time reassignments of budgeted but unfilled positions to free funds for emergency staffing and certificate-pay proposals discussed elsewhere in the meeting. The net effect of the adopted budget and the actions the court took that day produced a projected effective tax-rate increase reported in the meeting materials as an estimated 4.7 percent change over the prior year; staff presented a taxpayer-impact statement using the county’s median residential value and showed approximate monthly dollar impacts for homeowners.

Why it matters: The adoption of the proposed budget and the decision to propose the indicated tax rate launch the statutory public-notice and hearing schedule. The court’s budget votes also included a series of one-time reallocations (position eliminations, CAD usage) that commissioners said they would revisit as part of next year’s budget process.

What was discussion only: Commissioners debated whether to use CAD or fund balances for recurring versus one-time costs and discussed station remodel timing for fire. What was direction: Auditor to return with models showing recurring-revenue options and the effects of the latest position eliminations. What was formal action: adopt the proposed budget (vote 5–0); propose total tax rate 0.59024 and set public hearing for Sept. 22 at 9 a.m. (vote 5–0).