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State gives county a slight bump in 2018 tax revenue


Walworth County Commissioners heard, Tuesday, Nov. 21, that the county had room for a slight tax increase because of the difference in the consumer price index.
According to auditor Becky Krein, the South Dakota Department of Revenue notified the county that there was a bit of CPI allowed that the county had not used. This will allow the county to increase taxes by about $62,000.
Krein said because the increase will be applied to all landowners in the county, taxpayers will probably not even notice it on their tax bills.
The increase will decrease the cash balance applied to the general fund and increase revenue by the $62,000.
Jesse Konold of Key Insurance of Mobridge met with the commission to explain the employee healthcare savings accounts that will be part of county employees’ 2018 health insurance plan.
With the new plan, the employees must set up a healthcare saving account (HAS) at the banking facility. Each year the county will contribute $1,000 to these accounts as part of the payment for insurance deductibles. Employees may also contribute to these accounts through payroll deductions.
Krein requested that she be able to increase her open part-time deputy auditor position to a full-time position in order to handle the ever-increasing administration workload in her office. She told the commission that there have been increases in administration time to payroll and several other areas of her office that have caused time issues in the office.
The commission approved moving to a second full-time deputy auditor.
The commission also heard members of the county weed board explain the need for a GPS unit for the pickup used in spraying for weeds in the county. By tracking areas that have been sprayed through the GPS, the board will have updated information on the work that has been done if landowners have questions about the weed spraying.
The GPS tracking will allow a daily report to be filed and increase accountability to the board.
Commissioners also heard Walworth County Sheriff Josh Boll report a jailer that had recently resigned has been rehired to do the cooking, the laundry and help with the female inmate population at $14 per hour. Boll said the position would be counted as part of the 15 positions as recommended by a jail expert to properly man the current county facility.
– Katie Zerr –

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