Maybe it was the slush outside, or dire forecasts of the season's first significant snowfall and deep-freeze temperatures.
The five Washington County commissioners, poised to approve a $148.3 million operating budget for 2014, held an evening meeting last week to accommodate residents wanting a say in taxes and spending.
None showed up.
The boardroom on the fifth floor of the county Government Center in Stillwater was empty except for a handful of county employees and three news reporters. The meeting, which state law requires, began with a slide show presentation by Budget Director Kevin Corbid and ended 35 minutes later after board chairwoman Lisa Weik didn't find any takers for public comment.
Not that the budget is controversial by any measurements that might arouse public indignation. The net tax levy of $86.7 million represents an increase of .66 percent, the first in four years. Even so, about 53 percent of property owners in Washington County will see a decrease over this year's bills, Corbid said.
The other increase will come in spending for the voter-approved Land and Water Legacy program, which will levy a bit more than $1 million in 2014 to pay for bond purchases that will fund more land acquisitions. That portion of the budget will cost property owners $5 each next year.
Together, the net levy and the land and water increase will represent a tax bump of 1.4 percent.
Capital improvement expenses, which include more money for road repair and construction, stand at $22.4 million, an increase of 22.7 percent over 2013 spending.
