An extra one-mill property tax levy that voters narrowly approved last year will be cut to 0.6-mill next year following action this week by the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners.

During a special meeting on Monday, the county board reviewed a proposed budget for 2008 and decided that the special two-year millage could be slashed by nearly 40 percent in its second year.

The board voted 4-2 in favor of cutting the tax, with District No. 4 commissioner Mary Tonneberger and District No. 7 commissioner Melinda Lautner opposed. District No. 5 commissioner David “Chauncey” Shiflett was absent.

Tonneberger had expressed concern that the county might not have enough money to cover all its expenses with enough left over for contingencies. Lautner has strongly opposed levying any portion of the extra-voted millage since it was proposed last year.

In November 2006, some 90 Leelanau County voters – fewer than one percent of those casting ballots – made the difference in approving the millage. Prior to the election, county officials had warned that some 30 county employees could be laid off and the county’s 9-1-1 emergency dispatch center could be shut down if voters didn’t approve the extra tax.

Taxpayers were already being charged around 3.7 mills to pay for county operations. Under the Headlee “rollback” amendment to the State Constitution, that millage rate will be 3.5958 in 2008. Left alone, the extra one mill would be rolled back to 0.9833 for 2008 under Headlee.

With the county board’s cutback of the millage to 0.6 mills, plus the regular 3.5958 levy, taxpayers should expect to pay 4.1958 to underwrite county operations in 2008. For the owner of a residence with a taxable value of $100,000 (or $200,000 fair market value), the total county tax would be nearly $420 per year. That figure does not include the separate extra-voted millages supporting services provided through the county Commission on Aging and the county Road Commission.

Officials said last year that the county was facing a nearly $2 million budget deficit. About half of that deficit, officials said, was due to the planned expiration of a monthly $2.11 per telephone land line surcharge supporting 9-1-1 emergency dispatch services. The other half of last year’s expected deficit was attributed to increasing cost of other county services including those provided by the Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State University Extension office, the county Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation, and other county offices.

Immediately following last year’s narrow election victory, District No. 6 commissioner and county board chairman Robert W. Hawley said he believed asking voters for a full one-mill tax increase for two years was “a mistake,” and that the extra voted millage could have been substantially less than one mill.

During discussions on Monday, Hawley suggested that the extra levy be cut to 0.5 mills, but the idea gained little traction with fellow commissioners and other county officials. County treasurer Vicki Kilway said she thought 0.5 mills could deplete of the county’s fund balance to dangerously low levels. County administrator David Gill recommended that the millage be set at 0.65 mills.

A motion to that effect by District No. 2 commissioner Mark Walter and supported by District No. 1 commissioner Jean Watkoski failed in a 3-3 tie. A motion by District No. 3 commissioner Will Bunek to set next year’s levy at 0.6 mills was supported by Hawley and carried in a 4-2 vote.

Earlier in the meeting, the board heard from representatives of the department that represents the biggest portion of the county budget, the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf and Jail Commander Cheryl King convinced county board members that it would be more cost effective in the long run to bring the number of corrections officers employed by the county closer to the 18-officer level recommended in various studies.

Commissioners agreed that rather than paying more than $63,000 in overtime to the department’s 16 corrections officers and risking undue personnel turnover due to “burnout,” the county could instead hire a 17th corrections officer. The department’s “community work” program will be cut, however, saving at least $20,000 in the jail division’s overall $1.7 million budget.

The cost of operating the Sheriff’s Department minus the jail is also around $1.7 million under the current budget proposal.

Operation of the county’s 9-1-1 dispatch center will cost approximately $900,000 next year, even with a 6-percent pay raise for non-unionized dispatchers who have not received a raise in three years.

Most other county employees – who generally receive a “cost of living” pay raise each year – will receive a 2.4-percent increase in pay in 2008.

As part of their budget discussions, commissioners also heard from county Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Hubbell, who outlined a plan to turn two part-time positions in his office into one fulltime position. Assistant prosecutor Wilson Brott this week left his part-time position with the county to accept a fulltime position as chief judge with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Rather than hire another part-time employee, Hubbell proposed hiring his part-time chief assistant prosecutor Doug Donaldson fulltime, a move that could save the county about $6,000 per year compared to the cost of having two part-time employees.

Acting at their regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening, the county board formally endorsed the plan Hubbell presented at Monday’s budget meeting.

Overall, the county expects to collect $11.9 million in revenue in fiscal 2008. Total anticipated expenses will be around $11.7 million under current budget proposals. An estimated $200,000 surplus for the year could be added to some $465,000 already in a “contingency budget.”

The board is expected to take final action on next year’s budget following another public hearing on Oct. 9. The new fiscal year begins Jan. 1.