MONROE - The preliminary 2011 Green County budget calls for an increase of 13 cents in the tax rate - an increase of 2.4 percent from this year.
Rhonda Hunter, Green County finance director, said the increase is a result of the 1.6 percent decrease in property values in the county. The county used the 2010 equalized property valuation to determine the 2011 tax rate. Final numbers for the 2011 equalized property values weren't available until the middle of October, which was after the county put together the 2011 budget.
The proposed tax rate for 2011 will be $5.53, compared to the 2010 tax rate of $5.40.
If the county approves the tax rate, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $553 in county taxes. A farm valued at $300,000 would be assessed $1,659.
The proposed tax levy -the amount taxpayers will pay of the total budget - is about $14.3 million. That's a decrease of about $38,000, or 2.6 percent, from the 2010 levy of about $14.4 million.
Hunter said the county plans to apply $1.8 million from in county sales tax funds to the original tax levy of about $16.1 million to reduce the levy amount.
The proposed total budget for 2011 is about $41.9 million, an increase of about $500,000, or 1.1 percent, more than the 2010 budget.
The budget includes money set aside in the 2011 budget for capital improve projects. Among those projects is $200,000 for a sprinkler system at Pleasant View Nursing Home, which the complex is required to have by 2013. The expected total cost of the project is about $524,000.
The county also wants to set aside $75,000 to update its computer hardware and software.
Harvey Mandel, Green County Finance and Accounting Committee chairman, said personnel costs account for about 55 percent of the overall budget, about 2 percent more than in 2010. The increase was due to higher insurance costs.
Mandel said department heads were asked to cut costs wherever they could. He said it's hard to do considering increases in expenses such as supplies, utilities and fuel.
The Green County Board of Supervisors will hold a budget hearing and vote on the 2011 budget at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Green County Courthouse.
Rhonda Hunter, Green County finance director, said the increase is a result of the 1.6 percent decrease in property values in the county. The county used the 2010 equalized property valuation to determine the 2011 tax rate. Final numbers for the 2011 equalized property values weren't available until the middle of October, which was after the county put together the 2011 budget.
The proposed tax rate for 2011 will be $5.53, compared to the 2010 tax rate of $5.40.
If the county approves the tax rate, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $553 in county taxes. A farm valued at $300,000 would be assessed $1,659.
The proposed tax levy -the amount taxpayers will pay of the total budget - is about $14.3 million. That's a decrease of about $38,000, or 2.6 percent, from the 2010 levy of about $14.4 million.
Hunter said the county plans to apply $1.8 million from in county sales tax funds to the original tax levy of about $16.1 million to reduce the levy amount.
The proposed total budget for 2011 is about $41.9 million, an increase of about $500,000, or 1.1 percent, more than the 2010 budget.
The budget includes money set aside in the 2011 budget for capital improve projects. Among those projects is $200,000 for a sprinkler system at Pleasant View Nursing Home, which the complex is required to have by 2013. The expected total cost of the project is about $524,000.
The county also wants to set aside $75,000 to update its computer hardware and software.
Harvey Mandel, Green County Finance and Accounting Committee chairman, said personnel costs account for about 55 percent of the overall budget, about 2 percent more than in 2010. The increase was due to higher insurance costs.
Mandel said department heads were asked to cut costs wherever they could. He said it's hard to do considering increases in expenses such as supplies, utilities and fuel.
The Green County Board of Supervisors will hold a budget hearing and vote on the 2011 budget at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Green County Courthouse.