The property tax rate in Pennington County will rise about 3.5 percent next year after the county commission on Tuesday approved its final 2010 budget.

The commission, with almost no discussion, unanimously approved a total budget for 2010 of $70.7 million, up 8.6 percent over the $65.1 million budget this year. The general fund for 2010 will total $49.8 million, up from this year's $44.8 million.

Under the new budget, the tax levy paid by all property owners in the county next year will be $4.89 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, about 17 cents higher than this year's $4.72.

That means someone who owns a house assessed at $150,000 would pay $733.05 for the county's portion of his property taxes next year, up from $708 this year.

And some county taxpayers pay more for such items as the county fire fund, library and unorganized road districts. Under the current figures, the highest county tax levy for anyone in the county would total $6.40 per $1,000 of valuation.

Individual tax bills also are affected if the property's assessed valuation rises or falls.

Of course, property taxes to pay for schools and local government are added to the county's portion.

Included in the 2010 county budget are a 1 percent cost-of-living raise and pay increases based on merit for the county's 640 employees.

County auditor Julie Pearson projects that the county will finish the 2010 budget year with a cash-flow reserve fund of 15.15 percent of its general fund.

The county has set an unofficial goal of about 20 percent reserve so it can maintain a positive balance for those periods of the year before most property taxes are paid.

But commissioner Nancy Trautman said the county needed to provide an extra $800,000 to the county highway department to make up for revenue from unorganized road district taxes lost as a result of city annexations.

"We still have the maintenance of those roads," Trautman said.

She said the county also set aside about $5 million for future building projects, which took the reserve figure down.

In other action, the commission:

* Approved a ban on parking along Williams Street in Rapid Valley between Reservoir Road and Covington Street to accommodate increased traffic from reconstruction of Reservoir Road and Long View Drive.

* Passed a resolution allowing the county to use bonds to pay for at least part of a building it is buying for office space on St. Joseph Street and for work it is doing on a master space plan, if it goes ahead with a bond issue. Without the resolution, the county would have to pay for those projects with general fund money.

The resolution also provides a framework for the county to sell bonds to finance an all-new county building. County officials have talked about using a new type of bond provided by the federal stimulus package that reimburses the county for some of the interest it would have to pay.

However, the commission has yet to decide whether to build a new structure or to fund it by selling bonds.

The county is facing a space crunch as Seventh Circuit Court officials push for more space in the county courthouse.

* Approved sending a letter to South Dakota's congressional delegation and others opposing language in the proposed federal clean water bill that, they say, would allow the federal government to regulate every stream and body of water, no matter how small, even down to puddles. The proposed bill refers to "waters of the United States" rather than "navigable waters of the United States."

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8415 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com.