County to end 2016 with budget surplus

County to end 2016 with budget surplus

Millage rates for new year released, hospital millage dropped

news@theeveningtimes.com

Crittenden County will end the year with a comfortable surplus.

County Treasurer Charlie Suiter told the Quorum Court that sales tax collections will end the year up by about 11.8 to 12.8 percent from projections.

“We’ll end up the year with about $257,000,” Suiter said. “That’s 12.3 percent above projections.

We started off a little rocky. But everything has held together well.”

Suiter said the county collected $203,000 in October and has been averaging about $197,747 a month in sales tax collections.

The county started its budget hearings and Suiter said he expects the county budget will be about $20 million for 2017.

“It’s about what that hospital is going to cost,” Suiter said. “So that shows you how big of a project we take on personally every year. It’s a pretty big endeavor.”

On a related matter, the Quorum Court also adopted the millage rates for 2017 which for the first time in 50 years will not include a millage to maintain the old hospital building.

The following rates will be levied for 2016, to be collected in 2017: County General: real estate 0.0, personal 0.0; County Road: real estate 1.0, personal 1.0; County Library: real estate .04, personal .04, for all except West Memphis; Community College: real estate 4.0, personal 4.0; West Memphis School: real estate 29, personal 29; Marion School: real estate 40.70, personal 40.70; Earle School: real estate 44.80, personal 44.80; West Memphis: real estate 2.0, personal 2.0; West Memphis Library: real estate 1.8, personal 1.8; Marion: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Earle: real estate 2.0, personal 2.0; Turrell: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Crawfordsville: real estate 5.0 personal 5.0; Gilmore: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Sunset: real estate 5.0, per- sonal 5.0; Edmondson: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Horseshoe Lake: real estate 2.5, personal 2.5; Jericho: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Jeanette: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Anthonyville: real estate 5.0, personal 5.0; Clarkedale: real estate 2.5 personal 2.5.

By Mark Randall