County sees increase in 2020 tax revenue, 2021 budget
Another round of January snow Wednesday morning embellishes the surrounds of the Barry County Courthouse in Cassville.
January 27, 2021
Sheila Harris
Barry County commissioners have approved a budget totalling $5,759,158 for 2021, a number up $244,326 from the budget originally proposed and up $844,179 from the 2020 approved budget.
Presiding commissioner Gary Youngblood explained that because the county received additional tax revenue in 2020, some of the county departments received a bit more funds than they had originally requested.
“It’s easier,” Youngblood said, “to approve the additional funds now, for future needs, than to wait for elected officials to request them next year.”
According to numbers received from Barry County treasurer, Lois Lowe, total sales tax revenue for 2020 was $5,278,070.90, which reflects an increase of 9.15 percent over the 2019 sales tax revenue of $4,830,332.
Youngblood attributes the jump in tax revenue in 2020 to more people shopping locally as a result of COVID-19 and to an increase in tourists at Roaring River State Park.
In the 2021 budget, an increase of $169,039 was approved for the county commission above the amount approved for 2020. Youngblood explained the larger amount will provide law enforcement with more tools to perform their jobs, tools including four new patrol vehicles, plus laptops, WI-FI hotspots and radio equipment for all vehicles.
Renovation of the jail is also a priority for the commission and funds have been set aside for the project. Youngblood explained that the plans - including the addition of a dormitory-style room to house short-term inmates - are being finalized, and work is expected to begin this spring.
A pay increase for elected officials and county employees has also been included in the budget. Each elected official will receive a four percent increase per employee in their office, to be disbursed at the elected official’s discretion.
“For example,” county clerk Jill LeCompte said, “my office has two employees, so I will receive four percent above what each employee is currently being paid. It will then be at my discretion - based on their job performance and how long they’ve worked for me - to decide how much of that money each one of my staff will receive. They may not both get a four percent pay raise.”
Sheriff Danny Boyd is pleased about the pay increase for his deputies, and is hoping it will result in less turnover, which has historically been problematic for the sheriff’s department.
Boyd says he currently has 21 commissioned officers. and that their raises will be merit-based.
One elected official, public administrator Sam Madsen, who ran unopposed on the general ballot, is opting to draw a salary, instead of a regular fee, a sum which increases the 2021 budget allotted for his office from 2020’s $33,517.22 to $82,655 in 2021. The larger sum also includes payment to office staff.
The commission projects sales tax revenue for 2021 to be at $3,200,000, with total revenue projected to be $4,625,750, plus $1,699,343.77 carried over from the previous year. The total expectation for appropriation is $6,325,093.77.
Commissioner Youngblood says funds received from the federal CARES Act in 2020, totaling over $4 million, were held in a separate account per government regulations, so were not computed into the county’s approved budget and projected revenue.
At the time of this writing, final distributions of CARES funds were being prepared for disbursement to entities who had applied for them.
Sheila Harris
Barry County commissioners have approved a budget totalling $5,759,158 for 2021, a number up $244,326 from the budget originally proposed and up $844,179 from the 2020 approved budget.
Presiding commissioner Gary Youngblood explained that because the county received additional tax revenue in 2020, some of the county departments received a bit more funds than they had originally requested.
“It’s easier,” Youngblood said, “to approve the additional funds now, for future needs, than to wait for elected officials to request them next year.”
According to numbers received from Barry County treasurer, Lois Lowe, total sales tax revenue for 2020 was $5,278,070.90, which reflects an increase of 9.15 percent over the 2019 sales tax revenue of $4,830,332.
Youngblood attributes the jump in tax revenue in 2020 to more people shopping locally as a result of COVID-19 and to an increase in tourists at Roaring River State Park.
In the 2021 budget, an increase of $169,039 was approved for the county commission above the amount approved for 2020. Youngblood explained the larger amount will provide law enforcement with more tools to perform their jobs, tools including four new patrol vehicles, plus laptops, WI-FI hotspots and radio equipment for all vehicles.
Renovation of the jail is also a priority for the commission and funds have been set aside for the project. Youngblood explained that the plans - including the addition of a dormitory-style room to house short-term inmates - are being finalized, and work is expected to begin this spring.
A pay increase for elected officials and county employees has also been included in the budget. Each elected official will receive a four percent increase per employee in their office, to be disbursed at the elected official’s discretion.
“For example,” county clerk Jill LeCompte said, “my office has two employees, so I will receive four percent above what each employee is currently being paid. It will then be at my discretion - based on their job performance and how long they’ve worked for me - to decide how much of that money each one of my staff will receive. They may not both get a four percent pay raise.”
Sheriff Danny Boyd is pleased about the pay increase for his deputies, and is hoping it will result in less turnover, which has historically been problematic for the sheriff’s department.
Boyd says he currently has 21 commissioned officers. and that their raises will be merit-based.
One elected official, public administrator Sam Madsen, who ran unopposed on the general ballot, is opting to draw a salary, instead of a regular fee, a sum which increases the 2021 budget allotted for his office from 2020’s $33,517.22 to $82,655 in 2021. The larger sum also includes payment to office staff.
The commission projects sales tax revenue for 2021 to be at $3,200,000, with total revenue projected to be $4,625,750, plus $1,699,343.77 carried over from the previous year. The total expectation for appropriation is $6,325,093.77.
Commissioner Youngblood says funds received from the federal CARES Act in 2020, totaling over $4 million, were held in a separate account per government regulations, so were not computed into the county’s approved budget and projected revenue.
At the time of this writing, final distributions of CARES funds were being prepared for disbursement to entities who had applied for them.
