Dunn County approves budget

• Budget Approval

Dunn County Auditor Reinhard Hauck, right, listens to budget discussions alongside Commission Chairman Daryl Dukart during a Wednesday meeting in the Dunn County Courthouse in Manning.

Talk about it

Taxes for Dunn County should remain stable after commissioners approved the 2012 budget during a Wednesday meeting at the Dunn County Courthouse in Manning.

“Taxes are going to be down because our property valuations are up and because we have added quite a few properties,” Auditor Reinhard Hauck said during the meeting. “All in all, except isolated cases, you are not going to pay more in taxes.”

The number of mills levied for this year’s budget was down about 9 percent from last year, which finished at 113.05 mills, Hauck said.

The value of mills increased about $2,500 from last year.

The total budget funding increased to $35.55 million, which is up nearly $4 million.

Commissioner Bob Kleeman said the majority of the increase went to the road fund, which has seen increased work because of oil impacts.

The price of gravel and dust control for county roads has increased, Kleeman said. There was also a need to compete with energy industry employees, he added.

“A lot of it was wages to keep the people we have got here,” Kleeman said, adding that salaries were increased by 9.1 percent. “With oil industry, we had to compete with that.”

Commission Chairman Daryl Dukart said he agreed, adding that operating costs, equipment costs and salaries have increased.

Overall, Dukart said he was pleased how the budget turned out.

“With the impacts we are seeing — the changes that the county has had forced upon them — I think we are coming together and hope that I can make the same statement next year, being the way it is now, without any great increases.”

Nobody spoke during the public hearing portion at the meeting.

In other business, the commission approved the purchase of the Hoots Trucking LLC building in Killdeer at a price of $300,000.

The building will be renovated and used as temporary storage for county equipment until a central shop can be built, Dukart said.

The commission is scheduled to meet again Oct. 19.

Tags: dunn county, bob kleeman, news, budget, taxes, mills