Members of the Cannon County Commission have approved a budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins tomorrow.
After two hours of discussion concerning topics ranging from establishment of a pay structure dealing with the support staff of elected officials to non-certified employees of the school system and how it compares to pay for employees at fast food restaurants, the board accepted the allocations placed before the commission by the budget committee.
The budget was approved using the same tax rate as last year. The property tax rate will remain at $2.46, with $1.47 and a half cents allocated to the general purpose fund. Five cents of the taxes will go to solid waste. The ambulance service will receive 14-cents, schools get 69 and a half cents. Two cents will go to general debt service, and capital projects will receive eight cents.
Previously, the budget allocated 68.5-cents as the minimum amount the state will accept from the county for schools. A last minute amendment moved one-cent from general debt service to schools. During their meeting Monday night, the school board agreed that any amount from the county over the minimum funding would be allocated to non-certified employees.
The vote to approve fell over the traditional 7-3 split.