Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
County commission approves preliminary budget with 8-mill tax increase
Tomlinson Field has seemingly cleared its last financial hurdle, and its renaissance is not far away.
At a special budget meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, Eddy County commissioners passed a resolution to levy 2 mills for the airport reconstruction project.
An agreement drafted by Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies outlines the details: Eddy County and the City of New Rockford will each levy 2 mills for the city-owned airport, for a total of 4 mills, the maximum allowed by state law.
That's just what's needed to get the work done, officials say. Removing any hangar or structure from the plan, as well as determining a set amount and defined timeline for the infusion of county funds, made the project more palatable to county officials and the public.
Per the resolution, the maximum amount to be levied annually is $34,000, and the maximum time frame is 10 years, commencing in 2025. Therefore, as the county's valuation increases, the number of mills levied each year has the potential to come down a bit.
Reconstruction of the airport's runway, taxiway and apron, as well as access road improvements, are slated to begin in spring of 2025.
The airport project is estimated to cost about $2.2 million. City officials accepted a bid of $1,875,875.87 from Border States Paving at their June 3 meeting, which includes "full-depth reclamation" of the runway and taxiway; reshaping and grading the runway safety area; apron reconstruction and taxiway extensions; and improvements to the access road from Hwy. 281. They also signed an engineering agreement with Interstate Engineering for construction services related to the project.
The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission awarded the city just over $1.6 million in May, and the rest of the project's cost will be paid back over 10 years.
Commission chair James Allmaras noted that he still plans to quantify usage of the county's only airport so residents can better understand the importance of keeping the airport open.
"It gets used more than you think," Allmaras said.
Since the airport is city-owned, the county's resolution also requires that a joint operations agreement be put in place to further detail the limits of the county's responsibility. That agreement will be drafted and reviewed at a later date.
Also at Monday's meeting, commissioners reviewed the Eddy County Soil Conservation District's budget. That agency's $53,000 request was 33 percent less than last year, when they requested $79,000.
After review, commissioners made an adjustment to the weed board allocation, to reflect the additional funds they expect to receive from the state for spraying ditches. This "income" offsets the amount they need in local taxes to do their work, commissioners explained.
The preliminary budget approved by commissioners represents an approximate 8 mill increase over last year, Auditor Becki Schumacher calculated. The increase is largely due to approved requests from the weed board, water board and airport, all entities for which the county levied no funds the past few years. Other small mill levy increases have been penciled in for the ambulance service and the Lake Region District Health unit.
The preliminary budget worksheet showing the maximum amount commissioners propose to levy for each agency or department and fund is online at http://www.newrockfordtranscript.com.
The county will hold a public hearing regarding the budget on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. and citizens are encouraged to reach out to commissioners with any questions about the budget.
