The tax rat will drop by 1.421 mills but Barton Community College expects to receive an additional half a million dollars in tax revenue next year, depending on the final certified valuation. The BCC Board of Trustees met Tuesday and approved the 2023-2024 budget.

A Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) hearing and a budget hearing were held first. There were no public comments concerning the budget.

Vice President of Administration Mark Dean explained that Barton had issued a notice of intent to exceed the RNR. The budget approved sets a mill levy at 29.380 mills, which will increase the tax request by approximately $506,365.

The college’s current mill levy is 30.081 but the RNR for next year would have been 27.959 mills.

The county’s estimated valuation increased this past year by approximately $31,897,314, mainly due to real estate and the recovery of oil/gas increases. The mill levy request is based on the valuation number provided by the County on June 20.

Prior to Senate Bill 2013, which requires entities to notify the public if they will exceed the RNR, the Barton Board of Trustees typically attempted to keep the mill levy close to the same from year to year. This results in decreases or increases in revenue based on the final valuation, which is certified in November of each year.

Personnel

The board also approved the following new personnel. They will all be based on the Barton County campus:

Joshua Fulton – Assistant Coach (Track & Field)

Mary Reichert – Human Resources Technician

Larami Klein – Student Engagement Specialist (Barton Online/The Center)

Brook Degenhardt – Systems Analyst 

Shawna Prilling – Human Resources Technician

Other business

The board also heard a report from David Barnes, director of the Shafer Art Galley; a presentation by Lindsay Holmes, director of the Hazardous Materials & Emergency Management programs; a monitoring report on contingency planning and strategic planning, presented by Todd Mobray, director of Institutional Effectiveness; and a report on TikTok, presented by Maggie Harris

Harris had been asked to report on Barton’s use of TikTok after concerns and questions were raised by trustee Don Learned. 

“Overall, it was a very positive discussion,” Harris told the Great Bend Tribune on Wednesday. “The board was pleased with the impact the college’s social media has made and the engagement from our demographic. We will continue to use our current social media platforms as planned and will, of course, look for new opportunities to grow our social presence.”