By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
Ellis County is set to move forward with a 2018 budget that does not raise the general fund mill levy.
Following more than four months of work, Ellis County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes presented the county commission with the 2018 budget at Monday’s commission meeting. The budget contains $23.6 million in general fund expenditures — about $100,000 more than 2017 — but the mill levy will remain at 36.7.
Smith-Hanes told the commission that revenues are “growing faster than expenditures.”
General fund revenues are expected to increase by about $668,000, while expenditures will increase by about $115,000, according to Smith-Hanes.
Commissioner Barb Wasinger said the increase in revenue offsets the increase in county employee health insurance costs.
“We were able to keep the mill levy down despite the huge increase in health insurance,” Wasinger said.
Previously, Smith-Hanes said the increase in insurance is expected to be between 9.5 percent and 10.5 percent next year.
The only area that will see an increase in the levy is Fire District No. 1, which will see an increase of less than one-half of one mill. Rural Fire is its own taxing entity for the unincorporated areas of the county. For 2017, the Fire District mill levy was 3.314.
Smith-Hanes described Fire District No. 1 as everything west of Walker outside of the three largest cities in the county — Hays, Ellis and Victoria.
During his budget presentation, Director of Fire and Emergency Management Darin Myers told the commission last year was the busiest year the department have ever had and this year is already on pace to surpass that.
Myers said an increase in the fire district mill levy will help to offset the increase in services.
The commissioners commended Smith-Hanes and the department heads for the work they have done on the budget.
“They did a wonderful job as always,” said Commissioner Dean Haselhorst. “Being able to keep our budget where it is and no increase in the mill levy, that was just pretty nice to see.”
The commission will hold a public hearing on the budget Aug. 7.
In other business, the commission agreed to halve fees for constriction/demolition solid waste at the landfill for crews cleaning up the Ellis House Inn on behalf of the Ellis Industrial Development Corporation.
EIDC President Travis Kohlrus told the commission the nonprofit acquired the property and will have M&D Excavating demolish the building in an effort to sell the property.
Kohlrus said the group estimates there will be between 200 and 400 tons of construction waste that will need to be taken to the landfill. They are working to recycle the concrete and asphalt.
Public Works Director Bill Ring said the landfill charges $32 per ton for construction/demolition waste.
The commission agreed, as a way to help the nonprofit group, to charge $16 per ton to dispose of the waste at the landfill.
The commission also approved a funding request by the Ellis County Historical Society to spend a portion of the $5,000 set aside for sesquicentennial promotion. The Historical Society plans to use the money to purchase three portable systems that will allow them to set up photo and text exhibits.