Revenue from mineral lease royalties is projected to decrease substantially next year as compared to 2015, according to a presentation by Carbon County Clerk Seth Oveson on Carbon County Revenues and Operating Expenditures during the December 16 regular meeting of the County Commission.
The revenue from federal mineral lease royalties is distributed to the states, which in turn fund various local entities including the Carbon County Recreation and Transportation Special Service District. The District may provide contributions for various county needs and projects. Oveson noted, “We do have a pretty good spread of funding sources, but as you see in the projected numbers for 2016, the amount of money available for the Recreation/Transportation Special Service District to provide, decreases substantially from where it was in prior years and that will pose challenges for the county in the future.”
According to Oveson’s figures, the revenue from mineral lease royalties in 2015 was $3,235,898.31. In 2016, it is projected to be $2,300,000.00. The funding reached a ten-year high of $7,387,784.44 in 2007, and topped $7 million again in 2013.
Commission Chairman Jae Potter reflected on the mineral lease monies saying, “We have been really blessed over a lot of years with mineral monies. The Service District has been absolutely wonderful to work with over the years as far as the county contracts, their helping with the loan payments on many of the projects, and (they) have been receptive and sharing and giving back to the county those monies we receive through the federal mineral program.”
The loss of revenue from mineral lease monies will be reflected in cutbacks in services at the Senior Center. The Friday meal will be eliminated but the Mobile Meals program will continue to provide meals, delivering a hot meal on Thursday along with frozen meals for the weekend.
Revenue from property taxes for the 2016 budget is projected to be $6,336,441. That compares to $5,717,354.38 for the amended 2015 budget.
Commissioner Potter also weighed in on the budget process explaining, “We do have a balanced budget every year based on projected revenue, and then also projected budget items from the various departments. That varies based on what the actuals are. The property tax is really the only item that we have that remains constant, and while that high stays about that same amount of dollars, the pieces of the pie that contribute to property tax do change as reassessment takes place throughout the county.”
The total Carbon County budget for 2016 is projected to be $18,885,896.85.
The complete 2016 Carbon County Budget can be found online at auditor.utah.gov
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