BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Board of Supervisors reconvened at 1 PM for the budget half of Tuesday’s agenda. Budget appropriation and adoption for fiscal year 2024 to 2025 were ahead for both the county and the Corner Township (which the board is acting on behalf of after the township board was recently dissolved).
Susan Maline with McChesney Martin Sagehorn PC came before the board to present that the budget that had been calculated ahead of Tuesday’s meeting would reduce the levy from 21.24 to 20.9. The property tax request would be up 2%, while valuations were up 4%.
As discussion began, District 3 Supervisor Barry Fox raised concerns about funding for hard surface road work going down in the budget rather than up. Tax wise, Fox stated the difference was around $60,000. But his concern went beyond that difference.
“If we have 200 miles of asphalt, and I keep throwing this number out there, but if we have 200 miles of asphalt and it costs $20,000 a year to maintain those and to build new we need to have $4 million budgeted, and we’ve got $500,000 budgeted. So, we’ve got budgeted an 1/8th of what we need to maintain and re-do our roads not counting that we’re already behind. I think it’s a mistake if we only budget half a million dollars for hard surface roads,” estimated Fox.
He continued by saying he knows that $4 million can’t be funded through tax dollars, and that he doesn’t want to raise taxes.
“If there’s one thing that I hear consistently from people it’s ‘Nobody wants to pay taxes, but we’ve got to get the roads in shape’,” Fox explained.
Before the first motion for action was made almost 45 minutes later discussion ebbed and flowed between subjects including levies, a bond, and the shifting of dollars from elsewhere into Fund #801 (created that morning, named “Road Hard Surface Sinking Fund”).
After a short adjournment, it was confirmed that it was too late for a joint public meeting (September 4 deadline) regarding a levy increase. The possibility of a bond was also pushed aside because of the election ballot deadline being past and a special election not being allowed so close to the November election.
Naturally, talks abruptly turned toward where money could be contributed to Fund #801 from. Fox put the first of what would eventually be four motions forward, which, in his words ‘put something on the table to discuss”. The motion would make budget changes to the sinking fund (from $100,000 to $50,000), and communications fund (from $366,503.60 to $266,503.60). That $150,000 would be contributed to the new Fund #801, thereby increasing the general fund by $150,000. His motion also included moving $1.5 million from the inheritance fund (currently at $3.6 million) to Fund #801.
In ensuing discussion, the main obvious concerns were the amount of money left in the inheritance fund (currently at $3.6 million, expecting a conservative guess of a $500,000 contribution this year according to Fox) and the movement of money away from the other budget items and the effect that would have. The long discussion between each of the motions going forward indicated the decision was not being taken lightly.
Fox’s first motion failed due to a second. The following motions went as follows, each with continued discussion between each:
Motion by Fox, seconded by Lynn Longmore to move $1.5 million from inheritance, $50,000 from sinking, and $50,000 from communications to Fund #801. Voting yes: Fox, Longmore, Kleeb. Voting no: Parliament, Gibbons, Blowers.
Motion by Longmore (same details as previous motion by Fox) failed due to a second.
Motion by Kleeb, second by Longmore (same details as previous two motions). Voting yes: Fox, Longmore, Kleeb, Gibbons. Voting no: Parliament, Blowers. Motion passed.
The budget was passed unanimously with those changes made, for the fiscal year of July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Kleeb motion, Fox second. All voted yes, Bryner absent.
Petty cash funds for Custer County departments were approved before adjournment at 3:15 PM.
Next, acting on behalf of the Corner Township, the supervisors unanimously approved a $5,503.92 budget. However, expanding on talks from the August 27 meeting the board agreed a town hall meeting would be needed due to their desire to raise the levy past the growth limit for road improvements in the township. The meeting will take place October 8 at 9 AM in the supervisors room.
