Members of the Montgomery County Council got their first look at the county’s proposed budget for next year.
The advertised $34.3 million budget includes nearly $14.5 million in the general fund.
Certified assessed valuations — the dollar amount that determines how much property tax is paid — have dropped about $70 million, mostly due to a decrease in agricultural land value, auditor Jennifer Andel said.
“It’s been trending downward for several years,” she added.
The full advertised budget can be viewed on the auditor’s office website at https://www.montgomerycounty.in.gov/egov/documents/1598625967_97068.pdf.
Department heads will formally make their budget requests during public workshops at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 and 24 in the Montgomery County Jail training room.
The council will vote to adopt the budget during its October meeting at 9 a.m. Oct. 13 in the Crawfordsville City Council Chambers.
The meeting can be accessed virtually at https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/570040685 or by calling 1-866-899-4679. Use the access code 570-040-685.
In other business, the council approved a resolution authorizing the sale of bonds for the planned $2 million bridge project on C.R. 100W.
Entering the bond market saves money in the cumulative bridge fund for other bridge repairs, county attorney Dan Taylor said. The bonds are scheduled to be issued at the end of the year and will be repaid in installments over 10 years.
The county is ready to begin hiring a contractor for the project, with construction expected to begin next year, Taylor said.
The council also approved a request for a $1.2 million additional appropriation from the Crawfordsville District Public Library to pay off existing debt in refinancing lease and HVAC debt to capture a better interest rate.
“That savings, although … it’ll save the library money, the outstanding lease that they have on their building — that goes directly on to the taxpayers,” said Jeff Peters, the library’s financial adviser on the process.
In other business:
• The council Tom Mellish as president and Emergency Management Agency advisory committee member and Gary Booth as vice president and liaison to the assessor, recorder and treasurer.
It was the first meeting for David Hunt, who was selected by a Republican caucus to serve out the rest of late councilman Terry Hockersmith’s term this year.
• Treasurer Heather Laffoon announced the tax sale will be held at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 in the Superior Court 2 courtroom. There are currently 100 parcels up for sale, Laffoon said.
• The council re-appointed Melanie Brown to the Ladoga-Clark Township Library board.
