The county’s proposed budget for 2007 shows employees of Platte County will receive a 3% cost of living salary increase.
Also getting the 3% raise will be officeholders who are beginning a new term. Those officeholders include Betty Knight, presiding commissioner; Gloria Boyer, recorder of deeds; Sandy Krohne, county clerk; Donna Nash, county collector; and Siobhann Williams, auditor.
A hearing on the proposed budget is set for this Thursday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. in the county commission meeting room.
The raise for the above officeholders, who all were elected in November, was in effect approved in late December when the county commission passed a resolution authorizing the officeholders beginning new terms to receive the same percentage cost of living pay increase as county employees.
That resolution was passed by the county commission with Knight the only yes vote. Tom Pryor, first district commissioner, voted no and second district commissioner Jim Plunkett was absent. When only two commissioners are present, the presiding commissioner’s vote trumps (counts as two) the other commissioner.
Only the officeholders elected in November get the increase, as the state constitution prevents elected officials from receiving a pay increase mid-term.
The new budget with the 3% increase places the annual salaries for each of the five officeholders elected in November at $65,755.
Overall, the county has budgeted $20.6 million for this year, up from last year’s $17.4 million.
Salary increases are a drastic change from last year at this time, when county commissioners moved to cut staffing in various offices to meet an extremely tight budget.
A noticeable change this year from the county’s 2006 budget involves an 18 percent increase in projected revenues. This is a larger increase in revenue than the 1.2 percent in the 2006 budget.
Somewhat unexpectedly, sales tax rose 8.7 percent last year and is projected to increase another 5 percent this year. Sales tax revenue represents 35 percent of the revenues for the 2007 general fund budget.
Because of the revenue increases last year, the county has a cash carryover $3.9 million in the 2007 budget. Around $2 million of that amount will be moved to the capital projects fund for one-time projects.
Property taxes only provide 3.2 percent of revenues for the general fund. Just like the prior year, the county commission authorized 4 cents per $100 of accessed valuation for the 2006 tax rate.
Revenues from grants and other intergovernmental sources are anticipated to rise nearly 8 percent.
Platte County will see an increase in costs such as salaries, fringe benefits, computer hardware maintenance, detention center costs and new patrol vehicles.