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More than six months after beginning the new fiscal year on July 1, the Banks County Board of Commissioners has finally approved a preliminary budget and millage rate. Final action on the budget and millage rate will be taken at a meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at the Courthouse Annex at 150 Hudson Ridge, Homer.
Banks County finance director Randy Failyer reports on budget cuts at a meeting of the board of commissioners Tuesday night. County clerk Jenni Gailey is also shown.
BOC approves budget: Tax hike included; no furlough for employees
The proposed millage rate is 8.979, which is a .75 increase over the prior rate of 8.229.
More than $2 million was cut from the $13.4 million budget first proposed to the BOC with cuts coming in all departments. Finance director Randy Failyer said Tuesday night that the final budget figure isn’t available because all of the cuts hadn’t been taken out yet.
The vote to approve the millage rate and budget was 4-1 with Ernest Rogers casting the only vote to deny. Voting for approval were chairman Milton Dalton and commissioners Rickey Cain, Charles Turk and Joe Barefoot.
“I feel like we have to operate on what we have coming in and not raise taxes,” Rogers said. “I can’t vote on a tax increase.”
Barefoot said, “Nobody in this room or this board wants a tax increase. It is one of those things necessary based on the economic situation we find ourselves in. We have to stay in business and service the needs of the people of the county. This is the best budget we can come up with and it requires a little tax increase.”
The millage rate increase will add an additional $30 per $100,000 in property tax value. At first, a 1.75 millage rate increase was proposed which would have been an additional $70 per $100,000 in property tax value.
In earlier meetings, the BOC discussed implementing three furlough days for county employees but the final budget did not include this.
More than 50 people attended the meeting Tuesday night to discuss the budget with the majority being county employees concerned about the possibility of furlough days.
“We have gone back and cut back almost another $1 million,” Dalton said of the latest budget proposal. “At this time, it leaves the bare, and I emphasize bare, necessities.”
Dalton pointed out that the county’s tax digest has decreased for the past three years.
“I see no way we could leave it at what it was without a small tax increase,” he said. “We’re looking at April to start this same (budget) process again. I don’t know what we will have then. I hope revenue will pick up enough that we can stay along the same lines that we are now.”
Barefoot pointed out that the final budget is less than the 2007 budget was.
“We have counted paper clips, toilet paper and the whole nine yards,” he said. “There is nothing in the budget that doesn’t absolutely have to be there.”
Only one citizen, Sam Moon, spoke during the public input portion of the meeting.
“While I respect the cutting process, I personally feel that we are not watching what we spend,” Moon said. “Over the past year, I have watched employees of this county abuse their jobs, which is my tax dollars.”
Moon said he had witnessed employees check in for work and then go to a fast food restaurant to get breakfast and others “spend hours at Wal-Mart.”
“When a dime comes in, I want 10 cents of my dime to go toward county business and not personal,” Moon said. “I want the money watched. Every individual in this country is having to cut back and watch every dime. It’s hard to ask any citizen not to be concerned that they are getting a dime’s work for a dime. I’m not here to fuss at you. I think you all have hard jobs. But we have to take care of what we have and not let it get dilapidated so that we have to buy new…I expect everyone to be looking out for my money as hard as they can.”
SPENDING FREEZE
The BOC also unanimously voted Tuesday night to implement a spending freeze for all county departments.
“I would like to see us put a halt on any spending that is not a necessity to the county,” Cain said. “We did things while the economy was good and we had a fund balance to run for six months but our revenue has been down 21 percent this year. If it is appropriate to put a spending freeze or whatever we need to do…Let’s just do what we have to do. Some of the trips we have taken before we may have to put them off unless people want to pay for their own.”
The motion is to stop all spending that is not a “necessity.”
Dalton said, “I think what Rickey is saying is a dire necessity.”
Rogers said the county also needs to look at all county positions to see if any are not necessary and, if so, doing away with them.
APPROVES LOAN
In other financial business, the BOC approved a tax anticipation line of credit to cover operating costs until tax revenue comes in. Tax bills for 2009 have not been sent yet, but are expected to be sent in March.
The loan will be with Regions Bank, which had the lowest interest rate at 2.45.
“This is a typical operating procedure to borrow money based on incoming taxes,” Barefoot said.
More than $2 million was cut from the $13.4 million budget first proposed to the BOC with cuts coming in all departments. Finance director Randy Failyer said Tuesday night that the final budget figure isn’t available because all of the cuts hadn’t been taken out yet.
The vote to approve the millage rate and budget was 4-1 with Ernest Rogers casting the only vote to deny. Voting for approval were chairman Milton Dalton and commissioners Rickey Cain, Charles Turk and Joe Barefoot.
“I feel like we have to operate on what we have coming in and not raise taxes,” Rogers said. “I can’t vote on a tax increase.”
Barefoot said, “Nobody in this room or this board wants a tax increase. It is one of those things necessary based on the economic situation we find ourselves in. We have to stay in business and service the needs of the people of the county. This is the best budget we can come up with and it requires a little tax increase.”
The millage rate increase will add an additional $30 per $100,000 in property tax value. At first, a 1.75 millage rate increase was proposed which would have been an additional $70 per $100,000 in property tax value.
In earlier meetings, the BOC discussed implementing three furlough days for county employees but the final budget did not include this.
More than 50 people attended the meeting Tuesday night to discuss the budget with the majority being county employees concerned about the possibility of furlough days.
“We have gone back and cut back almost another $1 million,” Dalton said of the latest budget proposal. “At this time, it leaves the bare, and I emphasize bare, necessities.”
Dalton pointed out that the county’s tax digest has decreased for the past three years.
“I see no way we could leave it at what it was without a small tax increase,” he said. “We’re looking at April to start this same (budget) process again. I don’t know what we will have then. I hope revenue will pick up enough that we can stay along the same lines that we are now.”
Barefoot pointed out that the final budget is less than the 2007 budget was.
“We have counted paper clips, toilet paper and the whole nine yards,” he said. “There is nothing in the budget that doesn’t absolutely have to be there.”
Only one citizen, Sam Moon, spoke during the public input portion of the meeting.
“While I respect the cutting process, I personally feel that we are not watching what we spend,” Moon said. “Over the past year, I have watched employees of this county abuse their jobs, which is my tax dollars.”
Moon said he had witnessed employees check in for work and then go to a fast food restaurant to get breakfast and others “spend hours at Wal-Mart.”
“When a dime comes in, I want 10 cents of my dime to go toward county business and not personal,” Moon said. “I want the money watched. Every individual in this country is having to cut back and watch every dime. It’s hard to ask any citizen not to be concerned that they are getting a dime’s work for a dime. I’m not here to fuss at you. I think you all have hard jobs. But we have to take care of what we have and not let it get dilapidated so that we have to buy new…I expect everyone to be looking out for my money as hard as they can.”
SPENDING FREEZE
The BOC also unanimously voted Tuesday night to implement a spending freeze for all county departments.
“I would like to see us put a halt on any spending that is not a necessity to the county,” Cain said. “We did things while the economy was good and we had a fund balance to run for six months but our revenue has been down 21 percent this year. If it is appropriate to put a spending freeze or whatever we need to do…Let’s just do what we have to do. Some of the trips we have taken before we may have to put them off unless people want to pay for their own.”
The motion is to stop all spending that is not a “necessity.”
Dalton said, “I think what Rickey is saying is a dire necessity.”
Rogers said the county also needs to look at all county positions to see if any are not necessary and, if so, doing away with them.
APPROVES LOAN
In other financial business, the BOC approved a tax anticipation line of credit to cover operating costs until tax revenue comes in. Tax bills for 2009 have not been sent yet, but are expected to be sent in March.
The loan will be with Regions Bank, which had the lowest interest rate at 2.45.
“This is a typical operating procedure to borrow money based on incoming taxes,” Barefoot said.
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Milton Dalton still receiving $70,000++ in his position as chairman of BOC in addition to his income from his retirement pension.
Barefoot explaining why he supported the tax increase...(even counting the paper clips and toilet paper) while receiving a $69,000 salary from Banks Co Schools and an additional salary as a BOC member.
I did not notice Dalton or Barefoot offering to take a pay cut to help reduce the budget.
Thanks to Sam Moon for speaking out for the taxpayers and to Rogers for voting against the tax increase.
It is not hard to understand----if you do not have the income/money you have to cut the budget. All us taxpayers have to cut our budgets and the county needs to learn this basic principle.
I think the county would be ahead to just have many of the employees stay home and mail their checks. At least that way the county would save on all the wasted gas money that they use riding around running from work.
Hey Sam, maybe you should run. I'd love to place a vote for someone who has their eyes open to some of the actions going on in this county.
Ya'll talk big but if you want to pay a bill and or call 911 and no one is there then what?
Hey let's lay off the guys at the water plant and hire monkeys...or better yet let's go back to the days of all volunteer fireman so they can spend your money with no over site and drink beer and play cards at the station...yup need to stop all this crazy talk about staying modern here in good old banks county!
You can forget about things getting better here because ya'll only care about your own wallet and everyone else be damned.