Public hearing fails to draw public's interest

Dyer County held a public hearing Friday on its proposed 2009-2010 budget but the public didn't attend.

The only folks to show up were county officials, who had come to conduct the hearing, answer questions and observe.

The Dyer County Commission is scheduled to vote on the budget proposal at 7 p.m. June 29 in the circuit courtroom on the second floor of the Dyer County Courthouse. The new budget will go into effect on July 1.

The property tax rate is expected to remain the same at $2.35 for every $100 of assessed property value.

County officials tried to keep their budget requests below or equal to 2008-09 spending levels, despite rising utility costs. Falling revenues, however, forced the county to seriously dip into its fund balances.

The General Fund, which covers most county governmental offices, anticipates revenues of $10.278 million, expenditures of $10.678 million and using about $400,000 from the fund balance.

The Highway/Public Works Fund anticipates $4.589 million in revenues, $5.379 million in expenditures and using about $790,654 from the fund balance.

The General Purpose School Fund anticipates revenues of $23.437 million, expenses of $23.685 million and using about $248,814 from the fund balance.

The School Transportation Fund anticipates revenues of $2.098 million, expenditures of $2.163 million and using $64,764 from the fund balance.

The Debt Service Fund anticipates revenues of $2.686 million and expenditures of $2.271 million.

David Agee, chairman of the Dyer County Commission's Budget Committee, opened Friday's hearing. He reported that the budget includes no raises for county employees, other than the fifth and last year of salary adjustment authorized in the sheriff's department. No new money was given to charitable organizations, either, he said.

Agee said he'd been asked one question before the hearing. Someone wanted to know how much money a penny would raise on the county's property tax rate. The answer: $59,762.

Commission Chairman Milton Magee thanked Agee and other budget committee members for "a job well done."

The hearing was closed.

The Dyer County Commission's Budget Committee is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. June 29 in the courthouse's lower-level conference room. The committee will consider end-of-the-fiscal-year budget transfers.