Preliminary estimates suggest the Ellis County Commission will need to find a way to either increase revenue or cut spending in order to balance the 2019 budget.
If the commission chooses to slightly raise the mill levy as allowed under a state-imposed tax lid, the budget still appears to be approximately $400,000 in the red, County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said. If the commission decides against a tax increase, the estimated deficit jumps to $645,000.
Smith-Hanes noted the proposed mill levy increase would be slight, approximately ⅝ of one mill. For a home valued at $100,000, that amounts to an additional $7.20 per year.
“This is not a desperate situation. Budgets are about making choices,” Smith-Hanes said. “We make choices all the time in our budgets at home, and we’re faced with some choices in the county budget for 2019. They’re not particularly pleasant choices, but we’ll get through this.”
(Read more: News – The Hays Daily News)