Benton County Approves 2024 Preliminary Budget & Tax Levy

FOLEY (WJON News) -- Benton County will spend less in 2024 than this year, but it won't impact the tax levy which is going up by 5.56%.

Spending is down because of a substantially smaller road construction program next year. County Administrator Monty Headley says their road construction doesn't use any levy dollars so it doesn't affect property taxes.

Benton County is capturing an estimated growth in the tax base of 16.6%, mainly due to an increase in home valuations for 2024. A homeowner with a valuation of $235,000 last year is expected to see an increase in the county portion of their taxes of $82 a year.

The county's total budget is just under $55-million, a spending decrease of $7.8-million from 2023.

The county board will certify the budget and levy at the Truth-in-Taxation hearing on December 7th.