It was a busy meeting for the Wright County Board of Supervisors on Monday. They held their budget hearing that day to approve the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget and tax rate.
According to the budget the board approved, and previously published in the paper, tax levies will be $7.32 per thousand for urban property owners and $10.82 per thousand for rural property. Last year, the amounts were $6.93 and $10.43 respectively.
County Auditor Betty Ellis explained the increase is partially due to the debt service levy going up due to some big capital projects the county plans. These include improvements to the courthouse and the professional building. Ellis added that expenditures are “pretty neutral” compared to where they have been in the past.
The tax levies will now be the highest they have ever been after a big bump up between FY 2018-2019 and FY 2019-2020 due to the ambulance tax passed by voters.
Countywide, the debt service obligation to be paid for the upcoming year will be $6,107,130. Property tax dollars will account for $660,850 of this amount while TIF dollars going towards county debt will be $5,446,280.
During the hearing, the board also approved 3% raises for the following elected county officials: auditor, attorney, recorder, supervisors, and treasurer. The sheriff received a 5% raise.
