Little Change for Mill Levy

The Cheyenne County Commissioners approved a mill levy of .406647 in their Sept. 7 meeting.

The mill levy will generate an estimated $5,686,095. Commissioner Randy Miller said the mill levy has remained the same for the last seven years.

The mill levy reflects a slight increase, but a decrease in requested tax revenue. Miller said it is the seventh year in a row the county has lowered the mill levy.

In 2018, the commissioners approved a mill levy of .409000 with a total county valuation of $1,475,380,488, requesting $5,977,250 in tax revenue. In comparison, the county has cut almost $300,000 from the budget in the last three years. In 2020, the commissioners approved a mill levy of .406727.

Taxing districts including Cheyenne County budget a specific amount of revenue and document the amount of mill levies necessary to cover that revenue. The amount of revenue generated by the mill levy varies with the valuation of the area.

The commissioners also approved a resolution authorizing/reauthorizing petty cash funds for county offices, and approved issuance of the County Tax Sale Certificates.

The commissioners approved funding for PlainsWestCASA. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was awarded $3,000 for the 2020-2021 fiscal year and increased to $5,000 for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges for cases where children are involved in the court system. Their duties include watching over and advocating for abused and neglected children, and to make sure the children do not get lost in the legal and social service system. A CASA allows a child to have a home instead of feeling lost, and being a priority instead of feeling invisible, the PlainsWestCASA website says.

CASA volunteers are normal, day-to-day people who care about children and want to make a difference in the life of a child. CASA volunteers go through extensive training before being placed with a child. Volunteers stay with a case and the child until the case is closed and the child is placed in a safe home.

The concept of a court-appointed advocate began with a juvenile court judge in 1977 who was concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information. The judge came up with the concept of citizen volunteers who would speak up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom.

A hearing is planned for Oct. 4 to review the County's 1 and 6-year Road Improvement Plan. The hearing is planned for 8:45 a.m. in the commissioners' meeting room of the county courthouse.

The commissioners also approved modifications to the Appraisal Agreement with Valbridge Property Advisors and approved $1,500 in burial assistance for Shane Marron. Marron died in a single-vehicle accident near Fort Sidney Road and Old Post Road.