Jefferson County commissioners met Monday for the last time in 2005 to adopt a 2006 budget that by all accounts straps the county for cash.
The budget totals $43.8 million for all funds, against $41.1 million in total revenue.
That requires the county to take about $2.7 million from its $12.4 million in reserves — $5.9 million of that is required for working capital and can only be used for emergencies, said County Administrator John Fischbach.
“The biggest problem we have is not this budget, but future budgets,” said County Commissioner Pat Rodgers, R-Brinnon.
“If we take money from reserves today, we’re only stealing from next year.
“I’m really going to fight like hell not to steal from next year.”
On the minds of many who have followed the creation of the budget is the state-mandated cap of 1 percent on annual property tax increases.
Because costs are increasing at a greater rate than 1 percent per year — more like around 2.5 percent to 3 percent, said Jefferson County Assessor Jack Westerman — the 1 percent limit is creating financial hardships to the county budget, commissioners agreed.
New construction
Although the cap is in place, the budgets of the funds in which the property taxes go will increase by more than 1 percent because new construction is included, Westerman said.
The general fund is budgeted at $5.68 million, which is a 4.86 increase from last year’s $5.416 general fund budget.
The additional 3.86 percent increase above the 1 percent cap comes from new, previously untaxed construction.
