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Polk County Service District panel approves operating budget, sets tax rate
Summary
The Polk County Service District budget committee adopted a status-quo operating budget and set the district's permanent property tax rate at 7.12 cents per $1,000, with most revenue earmarked for OSU Extension.
The Polk County Service District budget committee voted Thursday to approve the district's operating budget and to set the permanent property tax rate at 7.12 cents per $1,000, as stated during the May 13 hearing.
The motion to adopt the presented budget and the subsequent motion to set the tax rate were each moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair recorded both motions as carried unanimously; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript.
Committee staff told members the district's primary revenue source is property tax, and that the permanent rate was stated in the hearing materials as 7.12 cents. The budget message proposed $486,000 for OSU Extension services and noted a modest increase in fairgrounds rent from $70,000 to $72,000. Staff described the proposed budget as largely status quo and said the district is building a slightly larger beginning fund balance compared with prior years.
Richard Riggs, introduced as OSU regional director, and Alicia (manager; last name not specified in the transcript) presented highlights from an Extension impact report and answered substantive questions about staffing and program delivery. They told the committee that some positions previously funded by the service district have shifted to state or regional funding, improving the district's personnel cost profile compared with several years ago.
A committee member thanked Extension staff for their work but asked that it be placed on the record that total operating budgeted revenues have increased about 70% since the district began and that fairgrounds rent has risen roughly 20%. Staff clarified that the revenue increase reflected increases in assessed property values rather than a higher tax rate, and that legally the district must spend property-tax revenue on the district budget.
The committee's action completes this year's budget and rate-setting for the service district. The committee adjourned following the votes.
