Nelson County schedules Aug. 8 special meeting as auditor outlines 2024 budget proposal

The Nelson County Commission on Aug. 1 scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 8 to finalize the countys 2024 budget after Auditor Nathan Parks presented a draft budget proposal.

Parks presented a budget that, according to his presentation to the commission, would increase the county general mill levy in 2024 by the same amount it increased in 2023 and would raise the Law Enforcement Center levy to reflect the levy submitted with the sheriffs budget request; the Road & Bridge levy showed no increase. The transcript does not specify the numeric levy increases or the dollar amounts in the proposed budget.

Why it matters: changes to mill levies affect property taxpayers and county revenue streams; raising the Law Enforcement Center levy would increase the budget available for sheriff and detention operations while leaving Road & Bridge funding stable.

Commissioners present at the Aug. 1 meeting were Chairman Cody Johnson and Commissioners Cameron Swenson, Aaron Mork and Steve Forde. The commission voted to hold a special commission meeting at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8 to finalize the 2024 budget and reconcile outstanding details.

The meeting also included brief portfolio updates: Commissioners Mork and Swenson discussed a recent Planning and Zoning meeting, Commissioner Forde noted an upcoming Association of Counties meeting, and Commissioner Mork reported that open positions in the States Attorney and Extension offices have been filled. The transcript records that Sheriff Kurt Schwind joined the meeting to give an update, but it does not record substantive details of that update.

Next steps: the commission will reconvene on Aug. 8 to complete budget decisions and any associated levy resolutions.