After a 30-minute public hearing Monday, Ellsworth County commissioners approved the 2020 budget as presented.

The 2020 budget has a total budget authority of $11,614,609 — an increase of $3,445,790 from 2019. The estimated mill levy for 2020 dropped 2.832 mills — from 51.702 in 2019 to 48.870 in 2020. The county’s assessed valuation increased $ 7,149,341 — from $105,623,171 in 2019 to $112,772,512.

County clerk Shelly Vopat said the reasons for the increased budget authority were employee benefits and the special bridge fund.

Commissioner Kermit Rush said the reasons for the higher valuation were improvements at the nearby Oneok plant and the value of grassland has increased.

Four residents attended Monday’s hearing, including former commissioner Terry Kueser, who commented briefly on the budget. He wondered about the status of the state tax lid and suggested the county will have to increase salaries in the future.

In other business:

• Brian Boisvert and Eric Heath of Wilson Communications requested the county renew its agreement with Wilson Communications to provide the county departments a firewall and other monitoring services to the Ellsworth County clerk’s office. The two-year contract, signed in November 2017, automatically renews Nov. 1 unless the county indicates otherwise. Boisvert said he received a letter stating the county was not going to renew the contract. It was noted the county signed a contract in 2018 with H&B Communications in Holyrood to provide internet services to the county departments.

Vopat said there is an optional provision in the H&B agreement regarding a firewall and she wanted to consult county attorney Paul J. Kasper about it.

However, all three commissioners reviewed the H&B agreement and concluded the firewall language was just that — optional.

“I don’t see why we can’t just keep what we’ve got and keep it like it is,” Commissioner Dennis Rolfs said.

Commissioners Rush and Steve Dlabal agreed.

• Stacie Schmidt, executive director of the Smoky Hill Development Corporation, briefly discussed the 2020 Census.

“It’s important we get an accurate count,” she said.

The next meeting of the Ellsworth County commissioners will be at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, at the county courthouse.