Larimer County 2007 budget maintains services
By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News
Larimer County put $12.6 million back into its reserve funds at the end
of 2006, largely because it backed off from putting up a new county office
building in Loveland due to skyrocketing construction costs.
On Dec. 19, county commissioners adopted a 2007 budget of $265.4 million.
County budgets change throughout the year, however, to reflect additional
grants and other income county departments receive. In comparison, the
final 2006 budget reached $293.2 million.
County staff characterized this year's spending as a "modest budget that
attempts to maintain services while costs and demands are increasing and
resources to finance services are shrinking or not increasing proportionately."
Included in the budget are voter-approved sales taxes that support construction
programs such as the fairgrounds and events complex and the open lands
program.
The county budget also provides salaries and benefits for 1,577 regular
employees plus temporary and seasonal employees.
The commissioners also certified mill levies for 2007. The county's total
mill levy is 22.410. It includes 0.750 mills for Foothills Gateway, which
serves developmentally disabled adults. Voters approved that levy in 2001.
The total levy also includes 0.089 mills for 2006 property value adjustments.
The county's operating mill levy of 21.571 is virtually unchanged since
1992.
The total actual value of all property in Larimer County is $30 billion.
New construction added about $1 billion of actual value, a 14.4 percent
increase from the previous year. The net assessed value is nearly $3.5
billion, a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year, which means property
tax revenue will increase 2.8 percent to support county services.
The budget includes the following expenditure levels by service category.
- County facilities: $35.6 million
- General government: $17.8 million
- Health and human services: $46 million
- Law enforcement and public safety: $54.1 million
- Parks and open lands: $15.7 million
- Public works and highways: $37.5 million
- Solid waste management: $4.3 million
- Support services: $37.8 million
Budget information is available on the county's web site at www.larimer.org/budget/
or by calling budget director Bob Keister at 498-7017.
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