Jefferson County approves L‑1 levy rates after reconciling state valuation figures

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the county’s L‑1 levy rates Thursday after staff reconciled differences between the county’s L‑2 worksheets and state valuation figures.

County Treasurer Christine Lund and clerk’s staff presented the L‑1 worksheet and noted several line‑item variances — including airport, justice fund and road & bridge calculations — that appeared to stem from different taxable‑value inputs. Commissioners and staff compared the county’s L‑2 worksheets to the state’s September valuation worksheet and identified an approximately $30 million difference in taxable value used in earlier drafts. Using the state’s valuation numbers, the board recalculated levy components and confirmed the totals.

“Once we used the state number it came out right,” one staff member said during the discussion. The board then moved and seconded a motion to approve the L‑1 levy rates; the motion passed on a roll‑call vote with recorded aye votes.

Why it matters: L‑1 levy rates establish the tax levies used to raise property tax revenue for specific county funds (for example, road and bridge, justice, airport and district court). Small changes in taxable value or rate decimals can materially change projected levy revenue and affect budgeting for county services.

What was decided: The commission approved the full L‑1 package as presented after adjustments, with staff directed to ensure the county L‑2 inputs match the state valuation worksheet going forward.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the paperwork for submission to the state tax commission and update internal records to reflect the corrected L‑2 inputs and the approved levy rates.