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BOC spars over debt in proposed budget
Millage increase slated for next year
How much of the proposed Jackson County budget for next year will account for debt service payments?
That answer depends on which politician you ask.
On Thursday, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners sparred over the amount that taxpayers are funding for debt — mainly the new courthouse and new equipment for the county road department.
For next year, the commissioners are proposing a property tax hike, now slated for a .80 millage increase in unincorporated Jackson County and a .81 millage increase in incorporated areas. The commission first proposed a one mill increase several weeks ago, followed by a .69 millage increase last week.
As it now stands, the general fund budget is proposed for $26.7 million — a 9.94 percent increase from last year’s adopted budget of $24.3 million.
The BOC will hold a final public hearing on the proposed millage increase on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 8:30 a.m., at the administrative building in Jefferson. The commission is expected to adopt the 2006 fiscal year budget later that day at 2 p.m.
County manager Crandall Jones said last week that the proposed budget includes all expenses related to the new courthouse — an issue that some commissioners said wasn’t done in last year’s budget.
Commissioner Tom Crow took issue with an explanation presented by Jones that stated that new equipment for the county road department was adding to the county’s debt service payments in the budget.
Earlier this year, the commission approved a supplemental lease agreement with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia to purchase heavy equipment for the road department.
The price tag for the new equipment was $3.9 million and a trade allowance for the existing fleet at $1.8 million was completed. The $2.1 million difference was financed through the lease-purchase agreement.
The proposed budget will pay more than $700,000 for the new equipment next year.
Crow — along with commission chairperson Pat Bell — said the cost for the new road equipment is justified because the county road department has received more than $659,000 in local projects so far this year. Without the new equipment, those county and city projects would have been bided to contractors at a higher cost, they said.
“My concern is that it’s only shown as a debt and the public is not being shown that it’s producing a profit by the expenditure,” Crow said. “The public only sees it as a debt that we have created; in fact, it is a debt that is more than paying for itself.”
Jones said the new equipment is ultimately a debt that must be paid, although it is saving the county money.
“I think it’s saving you money now,” he said. “If not for the new equipment, then we would be proposing a bigger millage increase because there is some maintenance that is avoided with having the new equipment.”
Commissioner Emil Beshara said Bell and Crow were avoiding the issue of the debt service payment for the new road equipment.
“If you spend $4 million on equipment, just acknowledge that you spent $4 million on equipment,” he said. “If you believe it’s for a good purpose, that’s fine; but don’t deny doing it.”
Bell and Crow said they were not denying approving the $4 million in expenses.
“We’re saying it is paying for itself,” Bell said. “It’s not like the courthouse hung around our neck that doesn’t generate (revenue).”
“This millage rate is not increasing because of this equipment,” she said later. “This millage rate is increasing because of the courthouse debt that wasn’t in the budget last year that we finally had to put in.”
Beshara said: “It’s increasing because of the $700,000-plus debt for this equipment.”
Bell responded by saying, “You are wrong.”
Commissioner Jody Thompson said some of the road projects that the new equipment is being used for are part of bond projects, which the county has to make debt payments.
Crow also took issue with a proposal in the budget for a new employee in the county tax assessor’s office. He said he believes the department needs additional funds, but not under the current management in the office, which he said has contributed to a high employee turnover rate.
“We do not need to be throwing more money to that department because they are wasting money,” Crow said.
Several years ago, Crow was fighting a decision by the county’s board of tax assessors to no longer grant his conservation-use status for 173 acres, including Crow’s Lake in Jefferson.
Crow said last week that the county tax assessor’s office spent a large amount of money in legal fees on his case, which was dropped by the county shortly before going to court.
Sheriff Stan Evans also addressed concerns raised by some commissioners last week about his proposed $4.4 million for the sheriff’s office and $2.7 million for the jail.
County officials initially believed Evans was asking for 16 additional employees to provide security at the new courthouse. Evans said that number was taken from a recommended report and was not part of his proposed budget for next year.
The sheriff said he is seeking funds for four additional employees at the courthouse and four dispatchers.
Beshara said several times while he wasn’t criticizing the operations of the sheriff’s office and jail, but he wanted an explanation from Evans about skyrocketing overtime costs for employees since 2002.
Evans said the sheriff’s office has seen an increase in the number of calls and the jail has been handling more inmates. Meanwhile, employee turnover remains high and existing employees will work overtime to help fill vacancies.
“We have a hard time filling our positions,” said Evans, while adding that high employee turnover is a problem in many law enforcement agencies.
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