Freeborn County taxpayers will have one final chance to share their opinions on a proposed tax hike before county commissioners approve next year’s levy and budget on Tuesday.

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners will meet in a regular session on Tuesday to adopt the 2011 tax levy and budget. Those wishing to share concerns can do so during item No. 3 on the agenda, consideration of issues, slated for an unspecified time between 8:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m.

The board will also set the salaries of the county’s elected officials for next year, including that of Bob Kindler, who will be sworn in as Freeborn County Sheriff on Jan. 3.

The general salary adjustments for non-union employees and an agreement for union employees will also be finalized.

The figures for the proposed 2011 levy and budget, which are preliminary figures only, were set in September.

The proposed 2011 tax levy is set at $19,043,427, a 7.9 percent increase over the 2010 tax levy of $17,648,678.

A $500,000 increase for the road and bridge fund and a $500,000 decrease in state aid weigh heavily on the proposed increase.

The $475,000 bond for the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response — called ARMER for short — is a new line item in the 2011 proposal, as well.

According to 2nd District Commissioner Dan Belshan, discussions at workshops held Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 leaned toward lowering the levy, but nothing will be finalized until the vote on Tuesday. He would like to see a freeze on the levy and on wages, too.

Last year, the board was able to lower the proposed levy in December.

The proposed 2011 county budget shows a total revenue of $39,341,932 with expenditures of $38,688,591, ditch fund not yet included. According to County Administrator John Kluever, last year’s proposed budget, less ditch funds, included revenues of $38,813,919 and expenditures totalling $37,598,659.

The proposed 2011 budget and levy passed on a 3-1 vote September 7, with 1st District Commissioner Glen Mathiason, 4th District Commissioner Christopher Shoff and 3rd District Commissioner Jim Nelson voting in favor of the proposal and Belshan voting against it.

Commissioners normally approve these items at their first December meeting each year. Commissioners usually meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month, however, because some of the commissioners attended the Association of Minnesota Counties Conference this week, the regularly-scheduled commissioner’s meeting was pushed back to Dec. 14.

Only one member of the public showed up to the annual Truth in Taxation hearing, which was Dec. 2. According to Kluever, that person had a question about personal property taxes, and made no comments about the proposed budget and levy. The public hearing adjourned after only four minutes.

Concerned about the budget?

Share your concerns about the 2011 tax levy and budget during item No. 3 on the agenda, consideration of issues, slated for an unspecified time between 8:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. Tuesday in the county boardroom of the Freeborn County Government Center.