The 2008 Lyon County budget is one step closer to being published following more discussion during Thursday’s Lyon County Commission meeting.
Lyon County commissioners crunched some numbers with Bob Agler of A&M Consultants during Thursday’s meeting. Commissioners were given different amounts for property taxes and how a mill levy hike would affect property owners in Lyon County. For a home valued at $60,000, the tax would go up $7 for each 1-mill hike. For a $100,000 home, taxes would increase by about $12 for every 1 mill added.
County Counselor Michael Halleran said the general public will benefit from seeing the numbers and how different mill levies affect them.
“If the taxpayers want to sustain the level of service (they are receiving), they have to know what it’s going to cost them at the end of the year,” Halleran said, adding that such information should be presented on a regular basis to inform the public.
Agler said he anticipates a 2.6-mill increase as the budget stands now. This is down from a 4-mill increase commissioners discussed earlier.
Commissioners will continue budget discussions during next week’s meetings.
Rick Frevert of Lyon County Emergency Management told commissioners learned plenty during a trip to Montgomery County in southeast Kansas during flooding earlier this month.
“I gained a lot of insight of what is happening ... what should be happening and what happens when things go wrong in a community,” Frevert said.
Frevert said the state is requiring a re-write of a book that, among other things, lays out the delegation of authority during an emergency. Frevert said one of his concerns centered around the fact that Montgomery County had three separate entities working following the disaster — City of Coffeyville, City of Independence and the county. Frevert said this made him thankful that Lyon County entities work together.
Frevert also talked about Lyon County’s landfill and if the landfill could handle debris in the event of a major disaster. Finances were another concern.
“Bottom line is, it’s the county’s disaster,” Frevert said. “The problem from the county standpoint down there is we kept asking for help and they (state) kept saying ‘No, how are you going to pay for it?’
“If we have another major disaster in Kansas, we’re not sure Kansas can handle it,” Frevert added.
In other business, commissioners approved Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman’s request to donate $5,000 to Plumb Place for security; and up to $300 to purchase equipment for Lyon County Courthouse security.