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CITY, ND – (NewsDakota.com) Barnes County Commissioners struggled to reach a final agreement concerning the 2017 budget this year.

The commission agreed to increase the mill levy by 7.62 mills to continue present services due in part to decreases in state and federal funding.

Commissioner Cynthia Schwehr and commission board president Mike Metcalf said it was a balancing act of making cuts in some areas while approving an average employee pay raise of 3 percent to retain people.

The commission voted unanimously on a 5-0 vote to raise the current mill levy from 96.43 to 104.05 mills, an increase of 7.62 mills at their regular October 4th meeting.

A taxpayer with Ag or commercial property valued at $100,000 will see a tax increase of $38.10 while residential property valued at $100,000 will see a tax increase of $34.29 for Barnes County residents.

The finalized 2017 budget was $7,983,400 an increase of $899,842 compared to the 2016 budget of $7,083,557.