Pulaski County could expect an annual budget shortfall of $2.3 to $2.5 million by 2022. Jason Semler with accounting firm Baker Tilly gave a financial update to the county council and commissioners Monday.
He said he’s working on a number of options to try to bring in some more revenue. Most of them would involve exchanging one type of local income tax for another or possibly lowering income taxes, while raising property taxes in the process. A similar proposal was narrowly rejected by the county council last year.
But it was pointed out that not all of the options would help the other government entities in Pulaski County. Depending on the option, libraries and school districts could end up losing money, as more property taxpayers hit the tax cap.
Additionally, any revenue increases seen by the county would only cover about half of the shortfall. County Attorney Kevin Tankersley suggested hiring a company to analyze how Pulaski County’s spending and salaries compare to those of other counties. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer also thought it would be worth getting a financial impact study for a proposed solar energy development.
County officials agreed to ask Baker Tilly to submit cost estimates for that work.
