County budgets for value decrease

Jack County department heads were asked to cut their proposed 16-17 budgets by six percent in anticipation of lower estimated property values expected.

The certified property values received recently are down about 17 percent from a year ago, County Judge Mitchell Davenport said Monday as part of the commissioners’ regular meeting. Values county wide are down more than $206 million from a  year ago and if not for the tax abatements given to such entities as Senate and Barton Chapel wind farms, Davenport said things could be worse.

The six percent would have amounted to $459,352 but when commissioners looked at the budgets presented by department heads, the cuts amounted to $265,044, or about 53 percent of what was requested. Davenport contested there is not a lot of fat in the budgets to begin with an estimated 70 percent to 80 percent being payroll and fringe benefits for county employees.