Although the newly adopted Sanpete County 1995 budget lists only a moderate increase in expenditures, two items are attracting the concern of taxpayers.
One is the continuing drawdown in the county's cash balances that has enabled commissioners to spend more money and still keep their promise of no tax increases.The county started 1994 with a cash balance of $1,828,234; it will start 1995 off with a cash balance of $1,431,602 and will have a cash balance of just $1,321,301 at year's end, according to the forecast.
Another large public concern is the amount Sanpete County is having to spend in defending state prisoners at the Gunnison regional prison. Although the total for 1994 is not yet available, it's figured at $135,000.
And the 1995 budget has that cost set at $129,333.
The county had revenue of $4,057,096 in 1994 and expects it to go to $4,343,200 in 1995, but only about $30,000 of that increase will come from the property tax. Despite the growth, it will produce only an estimated $1,021,869 in '95.
It expects to see federal in-lieu taxes increase from 1994's $384,000 to 1995's $455,496 and the state's Class "B" road allocation from $520,000 to $555,000.
Those two revenue jumps are the main reason Sanpete will be able to spend $4,453,181 in 1995 as compared with $4,337148 this year.