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WALKER-Cass County Board Tuesday adopted a 2017 preliminary levy of $21,556,545, or 4.81 percent more than the 2016 levy.

The county's tax rate would rise from 31.423 this year to 32.716 in 2017. This would mean about $22 more county taxes for a $200,000 homeowner, Josh Stevenson, incoming administrator said.

In adopting the preliminary amount and tax rate, the board also instructed the citizen budget committee and department heads to work together to lower the final amount and tax rate before the board adopts a final budget in December.

The budget committee already has meetings scheduled in September and October to refine the proposed 2017 budget before making a final recommendation to the board. There would be no contingency fund for unexpected expenditures in 2017.

Also proposed to rise is the amount the county levies for Longville Ambulance District. It serves the city of Longville and portions of surrounding townships and is collected only in that district.

The county has been levying $461,000 annually since 2010. The county has paid North Memorial Ambulance service $411,000 annually to operate the service.

As a result, the county currently holds $394,967 in a dedicated ambulance service fund to cover repairs on the ambulance garage the county owns and for special ambulance service purchases.

Chief Financial Officer Sandra Norikane said Tuesday the county does not plan to increase that reserve fund beyond the present level, but will replace any money spent from it.

North Memorial has requested an $80,000 increase in their annual payment to $491,000 beginning in 2017. The county will use the annual $50,000 it has put into the reserve fund to pay part of that increase, Norikane said.

The county proposes to increase the ambulance service levy in 2017 from $461,000 to $503,000 to pay the balance of the increased payment to North Memorial, she said.

That would mean a 9.11 percent increase on Longville area ambulance levies or a 4.69 percent increase in the tax rate for Longville area residents on their tax bill.

The board approved keeping the unorganized township levy at $300,000 in 2017.

Cass commissioners will hold a public hearing on a revised budget and levy proposal at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at the courthouse in Walker and are expected to adopt a final budget and levy at the 9 a.m. Dec. 20 regular board meeting at the courthouse in Walker..

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