It’s nice to know the system still works.
The Barton County Commission Monday morning approved the county’s 2015 budget. It is a spending package that calls for a 1.37 percent increase in spending and a 1.723 increase in the mill levy.
Now, one can approve or not of the spending hike or approve or not of the tax hike. But, that is a debate left for another day.
This year’s budget was presented to the commission three weeks late. Why? The audit was late. Why? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you can recall the troubles with the County Treasurer’s Office.
Again, this is not meant as an indictment of the Treasurer’s Office. That, too, is an issue for another time.
Next, the county faced decreased revenue from a variety of sources, including a decrease in property valuation.
It was, as County Administrator Richard Boeckman put it, a very challenging year for the county.
Still, through the dedication of many behind the scenes and many in the public eye, a  budget emerged. It took a lot of work to make it happen.
County officials are to be commended for their diligence through a trying period. Despite all that happened, the county’s audit was clean and all the budgetary deadlines were met, avoiding the potentially severe ramifications from the state level.
 A budget takes months to piece together and this represents the culmination of these efforts.
Dale Hogg