2017 The Year in Review | Citizen outcry over county budget

    The Carbon County Commission started 2017 with a series of budget meetings in a line-by-line effort to trim unnecessary expenditures because of a decrease in county coffers. The decrease was due to diminishing mineral lease royalty payments and declining revenue from centrally-assessed properties. The special public meetings continued through March, and the budget was an ongoing concern throughout the year.
    In October, county officials pitched an increase in two property tax levies to balance the 2018 budget and continue to provide the same level of services to the public. The proposed increases of 45 percent in the Assessing and Collecting Levy, and 707 percent in the Municipal Services Levy, were not well-received by county taxpayers.
    In November, county officials hosted two informal open house events to discuss the proposed increases, setting the stage for the official public hearing where comments from the overflow crowd ranged from disappointment to outright hostility. Following that hearing, the commission abandoned the tax increase proposals and focused on changes to the existing budget.
    The adjustments made to balance the budget included the elimination of 13 positions, consolidation of some county departments, reduction of some services, and the use of cash reserves from the Class B Road Fund and the Municipal Service Fund.
    The 2018 Carbon County Budget was adopted without further comment during the regular commission meeting of December 20.