Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, budgets and mills were the major topic of discussion at the Eddy County Commission’s regular monthly meeting.
Eddy County Auditor, Patty Williams, began by handing out a breakdown of the funds requested and approved by the various departments, as well as the total number of mills they expect to levy in 2023.
According to the breakdown, there’s not much difference in the number of mills between 2022 and 2023, even though the budget has increased. This year, the county levied 97.13 mills, with each mill worth $15,505.
For 2023, the county plans to levy 97.62 mills, with each mill worth $15,937.
Notable changes from 2022 include mills levied for the “ambulance” and “veteran service officer” line items, which are slated to increase from 5.00 to 5.96, and from 0.60 to 1.60, respectively.
The boost for the Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford accommodates the increase of on-call pay to $3/hour, and the increase for the veteran service officer (VSO) covers an expansion in the number of hours the VSO works per week.
Meanwhile, the number of mills levied for the “capital projects (law enforcement)” line item has decreased from 6.92 for 2022, to 5.50 for 2023. According to Chairperson Glenda Collier, the decrease is possible because $40,000 can be carried over from the prior year.
The line item that most sticks out, however, is for “county road and bridge,” which has increased from $770,320 for 2022, to $3,441,000 for 2023.
All totaled, the general and special funds requested for 2023 amount to $6,090,102, up from $3,209,855 for 2022.
According to Collier, the large increase is because the county has budgeted for improvements to County Road 10, locally known as the Brantford Road, and for the construction of a new shop in Sheyenne.
Collier added that much of the money for Brantford Road improvements would come from the state through “Operation Prairie Dog,” which provides $250 million in infrastructure funds in North Dakota, while money for the Sheyenne Shop would be paid for through ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.
The number of mills levied for the county road and bridge line item will remain at 10, the maximum Eddy County is allowed to levy.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners carried a motion to approve the levying of 97.62 mills in 2023, but according to Williams, they may need to hold a special meeting to amend the overall budget, as the Eddy County Water Resource Board had yet to submit their budget when the motion was carried.
Williams added, however, that they don’t expect the number of mills to change.
Also discussed at Tuesday’s commission meeting were improvements to the Warsing Dam. Commissioners were presented with a cost estimate for upgrades to picnic shelters at the park, which will cost approximately $14,500 in materials and labor.
A motion was carried to approve the project, which will be completed this year and will be paid for through the $14,884 remaining in CARES Act funds for Eddy County.
Commissioners then discussed plans to build new bathrooms at Warsing Dam, and it was decided to hold on that project until next year so grant money could be applied for to pay for it.
Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies discussed her plans with commissioners to talk to various boards in Eddy County about open meetings/open records requests, due to “random” and “bizarre” requests having been made in recent months - such as one pertaining to the 2020 presidential election.
Before adjourning, commissioners donated $5,000 to SAAF (Safe Alternatives for Abused Families), an organization that supports survivors of domestic violence in Eddy County and the surrounding area.
The next regular county commission meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday, Sept. 20. The meeting will take place at the courthouse and begin at 8:30 a.m. with a conference call. Afterwards, the budget hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m.
