By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
As the Ellis County Commission began work on the 2025 budget, their goal was to see a reduction in the overall general mill levy.
With the approval of a $34.6 million budget, they were able to accomplish that goal.
The commission held a pair of public hearings on Sept. 10. After two community members provided public comment, the commission voted to approve the 2025 budget and to exceed the revenue-neutral rate.
The 2025 general fund budget is $34.668 million, with a mill levy of 35.985, a decrease of 0.639 mills.
Ellis County Administrator Darin Myers said the final assessed valuation for the county will not be available until November, but as of July 1, the estimated assessed valuation was $536,775,865.
The 2023 final assessed valuation was $512,475,588 as of Nov. 1, 2023.
Commissioner Nathan Leiker praised the work everyone did to get the budget completed with a reduction in the mill levy.
“We do a lot of things as a commission to try and limit the amount of impact that we have on the tax dollars that we charge our community,” Leiker said.
Leiker said while he understands the thought process of not exceeding the revenue-neutral rate, the county also has to keep up with ongoing needs.
"I don't want to sit up here and, a year from now, have another bridge failure that could have been on a plan that we could have delayed or a pothole that causes an accident that we didn't fix because we offset some of the costs for one for a year or two for a road project," Leiker said.
Commission Michael Berges echoed Leiker’s statement and celebrated work done by the county staff to trim the proposed budget.
"We're proposing to exceed revenue neutral at this time. We're going to exceed last year's budget by about $500,000 to $600,000 in that range," Berges said. "Each department is almost fully even as far as their services."
He said the departments attribute the budget increases almost exclusively to employee wages and benefits.
Last year, the county implemented a wage and benefit study, which Berges said was the most significant factor in the budget increases.
“You want the best employees that you can get, and part of that is making sure you pay for them and get benefits that attract quality employees,” Berges said.
Ellis County also took over operations of the 911 dispatch center and its entire staff.
Berges was also critical of the revenue-neutral rate, saying he does not believe it is the “saving grace that we are often led to believe by the state legislature.”
He said he has property in another county where the property valuation dropped, but taxes on the property still increased to reach revenue neutral.
"To get the full amount of tax in their budget off of my property in that county, they have to raise my taxes because the valuation dropped, and that's where I don't think this revenue neutral is a saving grace that we often get told (it) is," Berges said.
"I'm telling you right now if your property valuations are going up, your taxes are going up, that's one thing to get upset about. But if your property valuations are going down and your property taxes go up because they're still revenue neutral, that's another kick in the pants," Berges said.
Leiker added the county’s smart budgeting has allowed it to pay for projects, like the new public works facility north of Hays.
"It's a very big project, but it's been paid for and paid in cash. We're not borrowing that money, so we're trying to think ahead to impact today," Leiker said.
Leiker also invited the public to get involved in the budgeting process earlier, starting when they assemble the budget.
“Next year, we will put it out, I believe, in the February- March time frame, a schedule for when our budget process starts,” Leiker said. “Please come to those hearings and those meetings. Please present ideas.
"If you see places to save that we don't see up here, do not be afraid to contact us outside the meeting. We have our cards, and our numbers are listed on the website."