Board debate centers on fund balance use and how rate changes appear after town reassessments

During the budget workshop several board members and a supervisor debated the county's fund-balance policy and how the presentation framed tax-rate changes after town reassessments.

Supervisor (Speaker 5) said she supports the budget overall but cautioned that the 'tax rate decrease page is a little not deceiving' and warned the average-rate metric can mislead residents after reassessments. She said, 'My house value went up 30%,' and argued that local reassessments can result in higher tax bills for some homeowners even when the county's rate per $1,000 falls. Board members responded that the budget letter calls out the tax-levy increase and that equalization between towns occurs before the county charge is spread.

The board also debated whether to use fund balance to cover costs or preserve it. Speaker 8 argued against repeatedly raising taxes to grow fund balance, saying 'I cannot keep voting for the budget' if the pattern continues. Others noted that fund balance has funded capital projects and reduced borrowing; Speaker 9 said the county funded 'over $10,000,000 in capital projects through fund balance' in recent years. Speaker 9 also described an audited 2023 excess fund-balance figure of about '$6,800,000' and said the proposed budget uses roughly '4.8' of that balance.

Board members said they will continue examining vacancies, departmental cuts and targeted cost controls (solid waste, meals and corrections) as part of the budget committee's review. The meeting did not produce a policy change on fund balance; discussion will continue in subsequent budget sessions.