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WALKER - Cass County Board voted Tuesday to adopt the 2012 levy and budget as presented at the Dec. 8 Truth in Taxation public hearing.

The levy will be $20,046,613, with the assumption that the county will still receive $359,016 in state program aids in 2012. The budget calls for $49,323,309 in total revenues from all sources and $48,339,692 in expenditures.

Included in the approved budget is the full allocation for Kitchigami Library System rather than the now legislative-authorized 90 percent of maintenance of effort. In a new report the board received Tuesday, Library Director Marian Ridge reported a survey of library service usage shows the per hour use at mobile library sites is higher than at most of the smaller libraries in the system.

The Bookmobile currently stops at five sites in Cass County.

Beltrami County did reduce its support for Kitchigami for 2012, dropping the Bookmobile service in that county. Crow Wing, Hubbard and Wadena Counties have yet to act on their 2012 library funding.

The county board approved budget calls for spending $1,130,330 on new equipment in 2012. Most of the purchases are computer and vehicle-related.

Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson obtained board approval to update the county five-year capital improvement plans to set earlier in 2012 allocations for future major expenses such as building improvements or new construction, so that plan is completed before her office needs to prepare for next fall's elections.

In Cass County, 27.2 percent of the 2012 budget will be spent on health and human services, 21.7 percent on general government, 20.5 percent on streets and highways, 17.5 percent on public safety, 7.5 percent on conservation, 4.8 percent on sanitation and 0.8 percent on miscellaneous.

Resources to pay those costs will be 42.2 percent from property and other taxes, 19.7 percent state grants, 16.1 percent fees/charges, 11 percent miscellaneous revenue, 9 percent federal grants and 2.1 percent interest income earned on investments.

Of the property tax Cass County collects, 41.2 percent goes to the county, 18.7 percent goes to school districts, 18.5 percent goes to the state, 12.4 percent goes to townships, 9 percent goes to cities and 0.3 percent goes to special taxing districts.

Seasonal recreational property owners pay the largest portion of property taxes Cass collects, 44.7 percent; followed by residential homestead at 23.3 percent; personal property owners at 8.8 percent; commercial, utilities and railroads at 8.7 percent; agriculture at 7.3 percent; residential non-homestead at 3.1 percent; resorts at 2.9 percent; and all other at 1.2 percent.

Cass commissioners revised the county policy Tuesday for granting property tax abatements authorized under state Statute 375.192. The change will limit consideration to only cases resulting from county clerical errors. The county no longer will consider cases resulting solely from a property owner's hardship.

Abatements allowed under other state statutes related to property damages such as fire and for people who have been in the military will still be considered.

The board approved a one-year $83,036 mechanical systems maintenance contract with Honeywell for 2012. While higher than the county has been paying Honeywell for quarterly contracts in 2011, Central Services Director Tim Richardson said the new contract will cover items such as valves, pumps, motors and seals, which the old contract did not.

Richardson termed the new contract as "an opportunity to extend the life of some of our oldest equipment."

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