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A $407,000 budget for the Douglas County 4-H, Master Gardener & Extension District was established Wednesday for the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, sitting as the governing body of the district, unanimously approved the recommendation from the district's Budget Committee.
John Punches, head of the county office of the Oregon State University Extension Service and budget officer for the district, told commissioners that the district budgeted $405,000 in anticipated expenses and $407,000 in revenue during the new fiscal year.
Personnel costs will total $245,000, Punches said, while supplies and services will total $156,000. That leaves $6,000 in unallocated funds during the year.
“I think this is a good first step out of the box for the new district,” Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
Voters approved the formation of the district in May 2008. Revenue will come from a property tax assessment of 6.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Taxpayers within the cities of Canyonville and Reedsport are exempt from the tax because city councils in those towns declined to be included within the district's boundaries. Residents are either not eligible for services or must pay a higher fee.
The district formed after the county Board of Commissioners cut $150,000 — because of the county's financial woes because of uncertainty concerning the federal timber safety net — it had previously given to cover a portion of the Extension Service's office expenses. Without the local support, OSU would have reassigned Punches and other extension agents to offices in other counties.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, sitting as the governing body of the district, unanimously approved the recommendation from the district's Budget Committee.
John Punches, head of the county office of the Oregon State University Extension Service and budget officer for the district, told commissioners that the district budgeted $405,000 in anticipated expenses and $407,000 in revenue during the new fiscal year.
Personnel costs will total $245,000, Punches said, while supplies and services will total $156,000. That leaves $6,000 in unallocated funds during the year.
“I think this is a good first step out of the box for the new district,” Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
Voters approved the formation of the district in May 2008. Revenue will come from a property tax assessment of 6.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Taxpayers within the cities of Canyonville and Reedsport are exempt from the tax because city councils in those towns declined to be included within the district's boundaries. Residents are either not eligible for services or must pay a higher fee.
The district formed after the county Board of Commissioners cut $150,000 — because of the county's financial woes because of uncertainty concerning the federal timber safety net — it had previously given to cover a portion of the Extension Service's office expenses. Without the local support, OSU would have reassigned Punches and other extension agents to offices in other counties.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
