The budget committee of the county commission met Thursday night and voted to publish a summary of the proposed new budget in the local newspapers.
The committee may meet again to make some minor revisions before submitting the spending plan for approval to the county commission at it’s next meeting on Monday, August 27th.
The committee proposes to cut the property tax rate by 20 cents from $1.90 to $1.70 per $100 of assessed value.
The proposed tax rate breaks down as follows:
County General Fund- 62 cents (a cut of five cents from last year)
Solid Waste- 19 cents (an increase of one cent from last year)
Debt Service- 29 cents (the same as last year)
Highways- 3 cents (the same as last year)
General Purpose Schools- 57 cents (a cut of 16 cents from last year)
Foster says even though the property tax rate for schools is being recommended for a sixteen cent cut, the county plans give back to schools the equivalent of sixteen cents from the local option sales tax fund or sinking fund.
The total county budget comes to $32,717,412.
The budget breaks down as follows:
General Fund- $5,781,689
Courthouse & Jail Maintenance- $80,425
Local Purpose Fund- $1,962,776
Drug Control- $20,908
Highways- $2,060,868
General Purpose Schools- $17,172,300
School Cafeteria Fund- $1,154,200
Debt Service- $1,264,,216
General Capital Projects- $784,210
Solid Waste- $2,435,821 (Includes a six year note for up to $1,225,000 to build a new cell at the landfill- a carry over project from last year)
Foster says the proposed budget includes a pay raise of 25 cents per hour for county general employees and a $250 bonus for employees with five years of service. Employees with up to ten years of service would get an extra $50 bonus for each year of service beyond five years.
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