BUDGET IN SCOTT UP SLIGHTLY

BENTON -- Scott County government will operate on a $3.4 million budget this year, an amount only slightly higher than what was actually spent last year.

The county commission approved the budget last week.

In 1990, actual county expenses totaled $3.34 million.

In a budget message, County Clerk Bob Kielhofner noted that Scott County refunded $230,000 to local government entities such as cities and schools to correct for over charging them in funding of reassessment in 1985.

In the message, Kielhofner said, the county commission plans to purchase health insurance for all employees this year, paying 75 percent of the premium. The county has not previously provided health insurance coverage for employees.

Kielhofner said it's estimated it will cost the county more than $100,000 to provide health insurance for its 75 to 80 employees.

One big area of concern is the county's sales tax revenue.

Both Kielhofner and Durward Dover, presiding county commissioner, said the sales tax revenue is expected to decline this year.

"The commission is watching closely the half-cent sales tax receipts, which showed an increase of $42,400 during the first six months of 1990, but then declined $40,500 during the last six months," Kielhofner said in the budget message.

The result, he said, was that there was a net gain of $1,900 last year. Total sales tax revenue in 1990 amounted to just over $1.1 million.

The general fund property tax rate stands at 6 cents per $100 assessed valuation. When sales tax revenue increases, there is a corresponding 50 percent property tax rollback.

But should sales tax revenue continue on a downward trend this year, "the commission may need to consider increasing the property tax in the fall of 1991 to recoup the loss in revenue," Kielhofner said.

Cash balances are also forecast to decline this year, he pointed out.

He said the balances had been on the rise until the 1990 budget had to be amended to reflect the refunds.

The total balance of all funds is expected to decline by almost $455,000 this year, from a balance of $1.24 million to under $788,000, budget figures show.

It's projected that the general revenue fund balance alone will fall from more than $616,000 to less than $280,000.

"We can't stand too many years of decreasing fund balances," said Dover.

But he added, "We're not really in that drastic a position."

He said the county's financial situation isn't as bad as the figures seem to indicate.

He said expenditures are generally overestimated and revenues underestimated, just to be on the safe side.

"We are solvent," said Dover. "We have no intentions of appropriating more expenditures than we have revenues over an extended period of time."