Adjusting the 2019 budget and adopting the 2020 budget were the main focus of Monday’s Uintah County Commission meeting, both of which received a strong response during the accompanying public hearings. The Commissioners unanimously approved a Resolution Increasing the 2019 Budget to allow the transfer of $13,291,000 dollars from individual budgets into reserve funds. Clerk/Auditor Mike Wilkins provided a breakdown stating that the $13.2 million dollars is made up of $133,000 dollars to be moved from the Western Park fund balance, $226,000 dollars from the landfill, $2,331,000 dollars from the Uintah County Library, $1.5 million dollars from the Municipal Service Fund to be put toward the Public Safety Complex, $3 million dollars from the General Fund, and $4.64 million dollars from Capital Projects. Wilkins emphasized that he does not recommend that the loans be paid off in full as suggested by the Commissioners and instead that the nearly $13.3 million dollars be kept in the reserve fund where interest can be gained while keeping the terms of the loans, many of which have a zero percent interest rate. Wilkins offered the example of $3 million dollars currently owed on a zero percent interest loan that does not mature until 2037 that could make close to $700,000 dollars in interest if allowed to remain in the reserve fund rather than used to pay the loan in full now. The Commissioners also unanimously approved a Resolution Adopting the 2020 Budget of $63,500,000 dollars. The new budget proposed on Monday reflects the transfer of funds as well as other new department cuts. Wilkins expressed clearly his opposition to the new proposed budget, saying that in his opinion it is not fiscally responsible to lower the tax rate so low and that it will force future commissions to go through unnecessary tax increases. Several members of the public also expressed their opposition, especially to the continued cuts to department budgets. Commissioner Bill Stringer said that he believes the County was collecting more than needed in years past and these adjustments are aimed at bringing the budget back where it should be. In addition to comments during Monday’s meeting, Commissioners Bart Haslem and Brad Horrocks spoke in detail on Monday’s budget changes that same evening as part of an interview on Newstalk 104.5 FM and AM 920 KVEL. During the interview, Commissioner Haslem said their goal is to pay off debt and operate each year on less money without cutting services to the citizens. The audio from the full interview can be found on BasinNow.com under the Community tab and by clicking on Public Affairs.While audio from Commission meetings could previously be found on the Public Notice Website at pmn.utah.gov, audio links no longer appear to be provided. Contact Uintah County for the possibility of obtaining the audio recording of Monday’s meeting.
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