Approved were 11.73 cents per $100 assessed valuation for the general fund and 19.23 cents for the road and bridge fund. The total of 30.96 cents is a drop of about 0.2 percent compared to 2008.

The county had a 2.55 percent increase in assessed valuation in 2009 compared to last year's total. That means the county actually will have $140,000 in new revenue.

By the slight decrease in the property tax rates, it will mean about $200,000 in less revenue.

Franklin County couldn't function with only property taxes. Its three sales taxes generate most of the county's revenue. The county has half-cent sales taxes for each of these purposes: General revenue, roads and bridges (capital improvements) and law enforcement. Each of these taxes produced more than $5.3 million in 2008.

Sales taxes are down this year compared to last year. For the first nine months of this year, each of the taxes lags last year's totals by more than $283,000!

The county has tremendous debt, totaling about $39 million to be paid over the next 30 years. The debt is due chiefly to constructing two new buildings and a program to pave every road in the county. We have no idea what demands the county will be faced with in the next 30 years, but due to the debt it is going to have to manage its finances very carefully.