Local budgets — and taxes — undergoing scrutiny

CEDAR RAPIDS - While the calendar year is nearing a close, local governments are busy preparing multimillion dollar budgets for the next fiscal year.

For Linn County, that means close to three months of weekly budget review meetings and department presentations before a final budget is ready for approval.

The county's fiscal year 2017 budget has about $107.6 million in expenditures.

Linn County Budget Director Dawn Jindrich said it's a lengthy process, but that's because the county must assess the budget for each department - from public safety to roads and transportation.

'You have to build the budget from the bottom up, you have to have a budget for every department,” Jindrich said. 'Some of these (departments) are small or don't have very much impact at all on the county budget, but they're all the pieces that, when you add them together, gets us to where we have to be.”

The process starts in November with budget initiatives and guideline discussions. Meetings in December and January include discussions with county department heads for presentations and budget estimates from each department.

All meetings are open to the public and posted on the county's website.

Some of the county's major classes of expenditures include public safety and legal services, physical health and social services, mental health, county environment and education and roads and transportation.

Eventually, when revenues and regular expenditures are tabulated, departments can make offers - or request additional funds for various expenses not regularly budgeted for.

For the last few years, Linn County supervisors have maintained a levy of $6.14 for each $1,000 of taxable assessed value. That does not include taxes from other government entities.

'I think they try to minimize any impact to homeowners,” Jindrich said.

The Linn County Auditor's Office has created an online tax levy rate map.

Voter decisions this year are expected to have an impact on local property taxes.

Voter approval in November of a $40 million conservation bond issue is expected to cost the average homeowner an extra $27 a year.

In addition, the supervisors' recent approval of a $7.2 million land purchase for conservation efforts could also increases taxes, depending on how much the county bonds for the acquisition.

The board in March will hold the final public hearing and certification of fiscal year 2018 budget.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com