At each Cannon County Commission meeting, various selected departments are asked to give quarterly reports to the Commission. Cannon County Trustee Norma Knox gave her report this past Thursday. According to the report, revenue obtained through property tax is expected to be over six million dollars total. As of the meeting, the office has collected 975,625.50 in property tax with another $5,001,765.50 to be collected. Property tax cards go out in October and while some property tax collections trickle in in November, it is expected that the majority of property tax is collected between the months of December-February. Knox reports that the office has collected 16.33 percent of the 2017 taxes, This is about the same percentage as last year. It was also reported there is still $163,443.00 in unpaid and overdue property tax from 2016.
Last month there was a small stir in the County due to Sheriff Darrell Young’s office stating that a gas account the Sheriff’s Department used was being shut down because of unpaid bills. The account was set up during the last fiscal year through a credit account with Gulf at Quick Shop Market on Main Street. The owners of Quick Shop do not control or extend credit to the account itself. The County also has an account at Woodbury Farmers Coop where first responders and all county department vehicles can purchase their gas. Officials at the Coop stated that the County even though they were behind in their bills would still have the credit extended to them to operate. This was the second year in a row, the County had been behind paying their bills and should not have been a surprise as the County is working on a five year plan to replenish their fund balance to the States satisfaction so that the County can have enough funds saved up to keep issues like these from happening. The County is in year two of this plan. According to the County Executive’s office, with the money that has come in through the property tax revenue this month, all bills are caught up and current.
