Commission Purchases Certificate Of Deposit From Bank Of Sullivan

The Crawford County Commission on October 22 signed off on a $200,000 certificate of deposit with Bank of Sullivan.

The CD has a 13-month term at a little more than 2 percent interest.

Purchasing the CD satisfies another one of the promises the commission made to voters when they approved a sales tax increase in 2018, said District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast.

“That pretty much completes the 2019 goals we set,” Boast said. “We’ve done the best we can to hold true to what we said. I think we’ve done a good job.”

Presiding Commissioner Leo Sanders agreed.

“As we told the people of Crawford County when this tax passed, this is one of the things we said we would do,” he said.

The county has reaped more than $1.8 million in general revenue through September, which has helped them erase a years-long debt, establish a balanced budget, purchase better accounting software in the offices of the clerk, treasurer and collector, set up a salary schedule and now, make an investment.

The county intends to build up a surplus approximate to one year of general revenue collection.

The sales tax increase, which passed in April 2018, came with a voluntary rollback of the county’s portion of the personal property taxes. The tax runs through December 31, 2023 at which point it would need to go before voters for approval.

Approval in 2018 came after voters rebuffed attempts to pass a more permanent tax increase in August 2016 and November 2016. 

Coming through with an increase last year has turned the county’s finances around. It was less than two years ago that the commission was on the verge of cutting general revenue employees’ hours down to 32 per week.