Cowley County commissioners managed to keep a property tax increase below two mills for next year even after deciding to partially restore some funding they originally intended to cut. A budget hearing is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 9.
The budget was approved for publication Tuesday following a series of meetings with various county departments. Among those most interested in budget outcomes were Cowley County Mental Health and Counseling Center and Cowley County Developmental Services.
County officials had recommended cuts for both organizations to help reduce a mill levy hike originally projected at five mills. Both service providers will still have their funding reduced but by less than first announced, according to county clerk Karen Brooks.
If the spending blueprint gets final approval, CCDS will receive $130,000 from the county in 2008, down from $165,000 this year. Mental health will get $155,000, down from $165,000 this year and well short of the $200,000 it requested for 2008.
The county will fund an equipment purchase from its equipment fund, rather than the general fund, to accommodate the restoration of some of the planned reductions, Brooks said.
Mental health officials and representatives of care providers for the developmentally disabled met with commissioners at their regular meeting and asked that the cuts be reconsidered.
Commission chair Dick Bonfy told the groups he was committed to putting some of the money back in the budget.
“But we won’t go back to where we were” this year, he said.
Bill Brooks, administrator for CCDS said that care providers will continue to get the funds they need despite any cut in county money. County funds are only a small portion of the group’s overall budget.
“It’s workable,” Bill Brooks said, following an appearance before the commission. “It appears the
commission may reduce the amount of the cut and we’ll do our best with what we have.”
Bill Brooks said CCDS ? which is a gatekeeper for those seeking services in the county ? doesn’t plan to pass a reduction onto the area care providers with which it works. The agency was established after the Winfield State Hospital was closed by state lawmakers who wanted community services as opposed to institutional services.
