Jeanette Wolfberg reports for The Upstater that the Columbia County Board of Supervisors passed the county’s budget for 2024 on Dec. 13 with a 1.4 percent tax levy increase. The budget totalled $172.4 million, a 5.6 percent increase from the year before. Board Chair Matt Murell guessed that property owners on the average should see a tax rate decrease of 3.2 percent because property values in the county increased. Raymond Staats from Clermont and John Reilly of Gallatin voted against the budget, with Reilly saying, “I don’t like the salary increase for supervisors,” and “I agree with Mr. Staats, we shouldn’t be building reserves.” Most supervisors’ salaries are increasing $1000 a year in the budget. Read more about this story in The Upstater.