Carbon commissioners were told last week by clerk-auditor Robert Pero that the general fund for the county will come up short based on the property tax collections projected in the budget planning process last winter.
“The actual tax collections are down from what we expected when we set the budget last year,” he told commissioners during a regular meeting on July 5. “We will have to reopen the budget and find a way to balance it.”
Based on the entire county budget, the percentage that the collections are off is slight. But the commissioners will have to review the budget and find a way to make up the deficiencies due to the fact that the state law requires a balanced budget from counties.
The total 2007 budget in the county’s general fund was $4,750,000. Collections registered at $4,614,053, creating a shortfall of $135,947.
The state assessing and collecting fund also registered a shortfall of approximately $4,000. But the county’s local assessing and collecting fund posted a surplus of almost $5,000.
The commissioners learned of the discrepancy while considering the county’s certified tax rates for the year. During the meeting, the commissioners approved an 0.002232 tax rate for the general fund and a 0.000293 rate for local assessement.
The county will have to find money in set budgets to make up the shortfalls.
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