Pratt County budget workshop flags mill-levy rise after accounting corrections

Scott, the meeting presenter, told commissioners the county's updated assessed value and budget adjustments mean the county sits above the revenue-neutral rate and may face higher mill levies next year. "That generates about 593,000," he said when showing how the assessed-value increment converts to tax dollars. He explained that moving three decimal points on the assessed-value increment produced an estimate of about 3.11 mills attributable to the recent valuation change.

The presenter walked through a three-column summary comparing last year, the current-year estimate and the budget column, noting a $392,850 difference from revenue-neutral and that combining COLA and the employee-benefit correction would increase the effective levy by roughly 1.42 mills. "So that 664,850 would be... that is 3.4% increase on last year's expenditures," he said. Commissioners asked staff to re-run the page‑3 summary with the corrected employee-benefit figures before the next meeting so the group can see a final reported mill levy and dollar impact.

Why it matters: the group debated whether to rely on one-time revenue like interest income and sales‑tax upticks to reduce this year's levy, with at least one commissioner warning that spending one‑time funds now can create pressure if property values or statutory caps change later.