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| NewsWednesday, November 28, 2007 8:53 PM CST |
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DeWitt keeps spending in line, OKs balanced budget praises
CLINTON — The DeWitt County Board approved a $21 million budget as leaders praised county officials for keeping expenditures in line while tax revenues have dwindled. “We have a balanced budget and, as a county board, that is something we should take pride in,” Finance Chairman Ed Young said. “If you notice, a lot of counties around our area and around the state are facing tough times. I’m not saying we won’t at some time, but this county has been hit harder than anyone as far as tax losses and yet we have managed to keep the numbers in line in order to have a balanced budget.” Young said 23 percent of the revenue in DeWitt County comes from real estate taxes. Other counties generally receive 40 to 60 percent of their revenue from real estate taxes. Young said the budget was about $400,000 higher than last year. “This board has been innovative and creative with these funds and we should be proud that this board and past boards have done a great job of looking ahead and projecting potential problems and anticipating them before they arrive,” Young added. The meeting was the first since the death of board member Jeff Pearl on Nov. 4. The DeWitt County Republican Central Committee has recommended Pearl’s widow, Lori, serve the remainder of his term, which expires in December 2008. Board Chairman Steve Lobb said that request will be considered at the December meeting. “Out of respect to Jeff, I feel that it is best if we hold off discussion on that until the next meeting,” Lobb said. “We will address that situation then.” Pearl was vice chairman of the board. Board member Chuck Moore was unanimously selected to fill that role. In other matters, Lobb said the negotiations among taxing bodies have been finalized with Exelon over the Clinton Power Plant’s equalized assessed valuation. “Hopefully, we will have those papers for the December meeting,” Lobb said. “We believe we have reached an agreement, but we have not seen the final paperwork.” Details have not yet been released, but the taxing districts are expected to get the final numbers within the next 60 days. Exelon officials contended that the power plant should be assessed at $168 million, but the DeWitt County Assessor’s Office placed the value at $200 million. Attorney Fred Lane represented taxing districts involved in the negotiations: DeWitt County, Clinton School District, Harp Township, Richland Community College and Vespasian Warner Public Library. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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