The Mower County board made a 7 percent county tax levy increase official Tuesday.

The board approved its 2015 budget and levy, which will increase by $1.2 million to $18.6 million next year.

“I don’t think that anyone’s happy with a 7 percent increase, but it’s just a year where we couldn’t set anything lower,” Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said.

Board Chairman Tony Bennett echoed that sentiment.

“It’s a disappointing number,” Bennett said. “We were hit from so many angles this year.”

State shifts accounted for much of the increased budget need. Though the state actually increased county program aid from $206 million to $209 million, the formula for distributing that aid means that Mower County will get $323,000 less. County officials said several other agriculture counties, like Freeborn, also saw aid reductions. County program aid is based on ability to pay, and the increases in ag land values in recent years shifted the aid to metro counties.

Other costs included a $25,000 increase in county burials and a $40,000 increase for three part-time employees, among other things.

The finance committee worked to lower the levy increase, but several more costs came up for the 2015 budget.

A year ago, Reinartz and Board Chairman Tony Bennett voted against the county’s 1 percent increase for 2014, arguing the board could have kept the levy flat.

Planning for 2015 is much different, as Austin residents could see increases from all directions. Along with the county’s preliminary 7 percent increase, the city of Austin’s max levy is about 5 percent and Austin Public Schools’ is about 5.5 percent.

Mower County’s finance committee previously recommended the county freeze all appropriations to all outside agencies, like the historical society, and it recommended denying all new requests, including a $15,000 request for the Austin Area Commission for the Arts.

Reinartz said during the meeting he hoped state legislators would take tax levy increases into consideration when they discuss what to do with a $1 billion surplus in the state budget.

“I would recommend to our state officials to give some of that money back to Mower County,” he said.

—Jason Schoonover contributed to this report.