County won’t raise taxes

BY MICHAEL J. RUDOLF

Wyoming County Press Examiner

TUNKHANNOCK - Wyoming County's property tax rate should remain unchanged for 2010.

At their work session on Thursday, the county commissioners said they are not planning to raise taxes above the current 20.848 mills.

A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value.

"We're not going to raise any millage at all," said county clerk Bill Gaylord.

"It's going to be really tight. I see it being a close, close budget, but we'll make it," he added.

Gaylord said there are still some minor adjustments to be made to the spending plan before the commissioners vote on it at their Dec. 29 meeting.

He said the county's expenses should come in around $12.14 million.

That's up from the $11.63 million budgeted for 2009, which required a one mill increase a year ago.

Gaylord said the budget will be ready for public inspection starting Dec. 2.

In another matter, the commissioners voted to seek quotes for the job of public defender.

The last time the county advertised the position was in 2003, Gaylord said. That's when it hired Deborah Albert-Heise for the job.

According to Gaylord, Albert-Heise received a three-year contract at that time, and has been re-hired on an annual basis since 2006.

However, commissioner Tony Litwin said there has been interest expressed in the position, so it makes sense for the commissioners to advertise it.

"If there's an interest and the county can save money, we have to look at it," he said.

The commissioners also met as the county election board to oversee a recount of votes cast on Nov. 3 in the statewide race for Superior Court judge.

Elections director Flo Ball said the recount was ordered by the Department of State for all counties.

In that race, nine candidates ran for four seats on the commonwealth's second-highest court. The outcome for the top three seats is not in question, but fewer than 12,000 votes out of nearly 6 million cast statewide separate the fourth- through seventh place candidates.

Ball said there were no changes in the county's balloting in that race between election night and the recount.