County Budget Official – No Tax Hike in 2015

LOCK HAVEN – The Clinton County Commissioners Thursday gave final approval to a 2015 budget similar in size to the 2014 version, one that will keep the county real estate tax rate at 5.4 mills.

The vote was unanimous after little discussion, board chairman Pete Smeltz noting there were no changes from the preliminary $31.7 million document first posted last month. The commissioners said they had received no public comment after the November posting.

All three commissioners voted to keep the county real estate levy at 5.4 mills for a second year in a row; that levy had last been raised in December of 2012, from 4.7 mills that year to 5.4 mills in 2013.

The commissioners had given document particulars in a “budget narrative” last month which listed accomplishments in 2014 and “ever growing challenges” in 2015. It noted the county will for a third year in a row make a significant contribution to the county pension fund, something they said the previous board had not done. The county has maintained its AA-bond rating by Standard & Poor’s, the highest rating available to counties, the commissioner release stating the rating was “the result of careful spending, debt restructuring and not relying on one time income sources to remain stable.”