(Audubon) The Audubon County Board of Supervisor’s held a public hearing this week on the Proposed Property Tax Levy.
Supervisor’s Chairman Doug Sorensen says the tax increase is 5.5%. “The rural services tax will increase 11.24%. The general services tax is up only 1.23%. Between the two of them it’s about 55% general services and 45% rural services, between the two of them it’s about a 5.5% increase in property tax for the county’s portion of it.”
The rise is a result of fuel, materials, and labor expenses going up. Total valuation in the county rose 3.7%. Sorensen says the county is responsible for about 40% of your total tax bill. “People want to blame the county for it all, but the county is only responsible for about 40% of your total taxes. There’s the school and then there’s rural and county rural services. Those are the two county ones that we can control. Then there’s the county hospital, DMACC for us which is your community colleges, then there’s your township, etc.”
Motorola presented the the Board of Supervisors this week about the construction of a new emergency communication tower. “It’s just way outside of our budget. They are telling us they are building 60 more towers around the state that are county funded.” Sorensen says, “Our entire county budget outside of the bridge and highway projects is about $5.5 million.” Sorensen’s hope is that the state will step in and help fund the towers in rural areas.
