The Carbon County Commissions have scheduled a Special Public Meeting for consideration of possible amendments to the county’s 2017 budget, as well as, consideration, review and adoption of 2018 tentative budget. The meeting has been scheduled for Friday, December 1 at 11:00 am at the Carbon County Administration Building, located at 751 East 100 North.
The county’s budget has come under fire since a proposal by Carbon County Clerk Auditor, Seth Oveson was presented to the commissioners in October with two proposals to increase taxes. One was for the County Assessing and Collecting Levy and the Municipal Services Levy, which would affect every single person in the county who pays property taxes by a 45 percent increase. The second proposal, showed a 707.36 percent tax increase on the Municipal Services Levy that would be assessed only to county residents outside of the incorporated city limits of Price, Helper, Wellington and East Carbon.
Carbon County Commissioners Casey Hopes, Jae Potter and Jake Mellor began to receive grumblings from the community about both of the tax increase proposals. This lead to scheduling two Open Houses for the public to attend so that they could learn more about the county’s different departments and the services they offer. The informational Open Houses was followed by a Public Hearing where 35 individuals were able to speak in front of the three commissioners. The speakers were able to voice their concerns about the proposed tax increases. The evening was simple, no matter where residents stood demographically the consensus was no one was in favor of a tax increase.
County officials assured the audience during the Public Hearing that they do not want to raise taxes and that input from the community is wanted and appreciated. All of the written suggestions from both open houses, along with the testimonies made at the public hearing and responses from the on-line survey will guide them with the county’s budget process.
The Special Public Meeting set for Friday, December 1 at 11:00 am is an important step in regards to the county’s 2018 budget. Residents who are unable to attend the meeting may access the KOALiTV live stream at
www.castlecountryradio.com/koal-i-tv/