County taxes to rise
Budget votes in Potter, Cameron

Boards of Commissioners in both Cameron and Potter counties will convene next Friday to pass their 2007 budgets, both of which will include an increase in real estate taxes.

The amount of the tax hike in Cameron County has been the focus of exhaustive deliberations as Commissioners Tony Moscato, Glen Fiebig and Patrick Rodgers continue to pore over the spending plan in an effort to trim expenses.

An initial draft showed a proposed tax increase of roughly 18%, from the current 21 mills to as much as 25 mills applied to each property’s assessed value (a mill is onetenth of one percent). That proposed budget calls for about $6.78 million in spending.

The commissioners say the tax hike is due in large part to more expensive health insurance premiums covering county employees, as well as higher expenses for utilities. So far, the commissioners have eliminated some administrative supplies, staff training and business trips included in an early version of the 2007 budget.

Cameron County taxes held steady in 2006, after being increased by 1.6 mills to 21 mills in January 2005. The budget comes up for a vote after a county salary board meeting Friday at 10:00 a.m.

Meanwhile, Potter County Commissioners Ken Wingo, Catherine Bowers and John Torok will convene at 10:30 Friday morning to take action on the county’s 2007 budget.

Tentative plans call for taxes to rise to 12.3 mills from the current rate of 10.8 mills to finance a $6.1 million budget. Higher insurance rates, utility expenses and salaries are the main factors in the tax increase, the commissioners explained.