Jefferson County’s new budget takes effect next month, bringing new hires, animal control funding, and a property tax rollback.
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No tax hike. New hires. Jefferson County’s new budget is here.
Jefferson County’s new $39 million budget takes effect next month, and residents will see no increase in their property taxes this year.
County Manager Douglas Baber said the focus of the new budget is what he calls “pride and ownership” addressing deferred maintenance and upgrades that have been put off for years.
Jefferson County commissioners approved the rollback property-tax rate after asking Baber to find a way to avoid a tax increase.
“The board of county commissioners asked me back in July to figure out a way to get back to the roll-back rate. The tax increase was about 2.12 percent, which equaled about 180 thousand dollars approximately and we were able to do that. The board voted unanimously last week to approve the rollback rate, so everybody is going to see no increase in their taxes this year,” Baber said.
The budget also includes a new sheriff’s deputy starting October 1st and a significantly larger investment in animal control. The animal control budget grew from approximately $125,000 last year to approximately $300,000 this year, and the county is adding a second animal control officer.
“So the Board of County Commissioners made it very clear that we take care of the animals here in Jefferson County. This year the budget went up to approximately 300-thousand dollars. Last year it was about $125 thousand,” Baber said.
Residents can also expect to see building improvements and vehicle upgrades around the county. Baber said the county will pursue additional grant funding to help pay for those improvements.
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