Carbon County finally has a 2022 budget, and it won’t cost taxpayers any more than this year.

But one commissioner is warning the decision his colleagues made for next year, which calls for pulling more from the general fund reserve than from taxes, may come back to bite the county down the road.

On Thursday, in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein voting no, the board approved a resolution to keep the tax millage rate the same as this year. The millage currently stands at 12.25.

That means that the owner of a home assessed at $50,000 will again pay $612.50 in county real estate taxes next year.

They passed the first motion, which sets the $87,296,458 budget funds, 2-1 with Commissioner Chris Lukasevich voting no to this motion.

The board then let a motion die that would have increased the tax millage by a half mill.

Prior to the vote to keep taxes level, the board discussed their thoughts.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner, who has been vocal about not wanting to raise taxes, said he wasn’t in favor of raising the millage when some spending could be curbed if the county upgraded items in the buildings.

“A budget is a spending plan on where money should be spent,” Ahner said. “We have buildings that need repairs and have inadequate HVAC systems that are costing the taxpayers.

“It’s time to use the money the taxpayers and the American Rescue Plan gave us to do the right thing,” he added.

Ahner also spoke about his feelings on the need to give the employees the salaries they deserve, saying that they are too low.

Nothstein urged his commissioners to look toward the future.

“We don’t know at this time what the future is going to bring as far as changes to retirement, insurance costs, retirement costs, state or federal mandates or cuts, building issues, equipment failures, leaky roofs, etc.,” Nothstein said. “I feel that at this time to do a no tax increase whatsoever, the first year alone we will be losing $2.2 million plus in the general fund. … And that to me is just building the debt for future boards or commissioners. …

“I cannot see us continually drawing from the general fund operating fund. It’s going to come back to haunt the board, this board or the future board.”

Nothstein said he felt Ahner’s motion for no tax increase was a mistake that would “hurt the taxpayers in the long run.”

Lukasevich said that maybe the county should also look at the past, which showed as taxes go up, so does spending.

He cited a “lack of fiscal discipline when it comes to wages, salaries, those benefits that make up over half of our operating budget.”

Lukasevich said that across the board 3% increases for raises would continue to put the county in “dire fiscal straits” and “adopting any tax increase will simply give those individuals who want to continue lack of fiscal responsibility and discipline to take advantage of the funds that remain.”