Grant County's 2006 budget approved at $24.8 million
Property taxes to increase in 2006
EPHRATA — The Grant County Commissioners on Thursday adopted a $24.8 million current-expense budget for 2006, and dumped an additional $504,250 into the indigent defense fund.
The commissioners increased the amount spent on public defense next year to nearly $1.8 million from an amended 2005 budget total of $1.3 million. More than 70 percent of the additional public defense money was pulled from the law and justice fund.
An American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit alleging inadequate public defense in Grant County was settled in November, creating a limit on the number of cases a lawyer can handle and assured defenders they will not suffer financially for providing adequate representation.
"What we're doing is improving the system for indigent defense," Commission Chair LeRoy Allison said.
In a separate portion of the budget, the commissioners agreed to spend enough money to hire three full-time and several part-time employees in 2006, after a hiring freeze in 2004 trimmed 14 positions.
Commissioner Richard Stevens said the county does not anticipate layoffs this year.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office requested a full-time patrol deputy be included in the budget, but commissioners chose not to fill the nearly $62,000 per year position.
The county road fund budget will be $33.4 million in 2006, totaling about one-third of the nearly $100 million overall budget.
Federal and state grants contribute significantly to the road budget, which will pay for a number of safety projects on county roads and bridges this year, said Commissioner Deborah Moore.
Among specific plans in her district, the county will complete a street overlay project on the south portion of Beverly Burke Road from Highway 26 to Road 7 SW this year. The county plans to completely rehabilitate the bridge leading to Crescent Bar Island. They are scheduled to widen and straighten nearly two miles of Crescent Bar Road NW and improve an old guard rail, she said.
On the revenue side, the commissioners chose to raise property taxes by 1 percent in 2006, but said real estate appreciation continues to be rapid enough that homeowners will actually pay less than the 1 percent.
"The property tax increase will not cover the cost of services we provide in Grant County, based on the increased cost of living," Moore said.
The commissioners are considering a 5 percent increase in building permit fees for next year. They used the potential 5 percent increase to arrive at $550,000 in projected revenue from the fees in 2006.
For 2005, the county generated about $795,000 in fees through November due to some larger construction projects, Moore said, but she didn't anticipate projects of that scale for next year.
Moore said Grant County remains 40 percent behind other jurisdictions in fees charged and believes 5 percent is a conservative increase. The commissioners intend to hold public hearings before they officially adopt changes, she said.
The county's unreserved fund balance or "rainy-day fund" will finish at slightly more than $3.6 million, according to preliminary calculations.