Taxes: Where Does the Money Go?

Appendix C: "No-Where" County Expenditure Decisions Activity

From Facilitator's Guide for Teaching "Taxes: Where Does the Money Go? Federal, State and Local Government"

by Scott Loveridge, Liz Templin, Carole Yoho, and Nancy Lenhart.



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Directions for the activity: In small groups of five people, discuss for 5 minutes each of the "No-Where" County upcoming 1994 county budget needs. Discuss each of the alternatives given as well as other alternatives that people may come up with, as if you were in the county commissioner role. At the end of the discussion period, take a vote on what you, role playing as the County Board of Commissioners, would decide to do with each of these budget decisions. (See also Appendix D: "No-Where" County's 1993 Budgeted Expenditures.)

Budget Needs

1. Jail —$900,000 per year in addition to current budget to cover debt service.
Alternatives: (a) Raise taxes for an additional $900,000/yr.
(b) Cut something equal to $900,000.
2. Building a Solid Waste Facility —(mandated to handle solid waste)
Build with "X" County and finance through tipping fees from garbage haulers that will be passed on to the customers.
Question: Where should it be located?
3. Road System —the Road and Bridges fund by '94 is projected to increase by $1 million to build, repair roads for eastern end of "No-Where" County.
Alternatives: (a) Raise taxes.
(b) Don't do it.
4. More people requiring social service support programs. The county is being cut dollars from the state, thus more cost to the county to maintain programs/services.
Question: Where do we find the money?
Alternatives: (a) Raise taxes.
(b) Cut other programs.

Written by: Dorothy Rosemeier, Extension Educator, MES—Swift County





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