Commissioners consider budget

May 22--Effingham County commissioners are considering a budget for 2019-2020 that calls for unincorporated county residents to pay more in property taxes only if their property values increased.

The first draft of the budget balances the general fund at $29.8 million, a 3.2 percent increase over the current year.

"The county is growing, and the digest is increasing; however, the economic outlook for 2019-2020 is flat in comparison to last year," Billy Beckett, interim county administrator, wrote in a forward to the document.

The first draft of the budget includes higher fees for health insurance and a net increase of eight new positions for Probate Court, the Sheriff's Office and jail.

Probate Court would get a part-time office assistant. The Sheriff's Office would get five deputies, one school resource officer and one community liaison/analyst and the jail would get two detention officers. One full-time and one part-time code enforcement officer in Development Services would be un-funded through natural attrition (no layoffs).

Penny-per-dollar sales tax proceeds for the year, combined with funds on hand, would allow for funding of major road improvements, essential equipment such as fire and EMS apparatus and other necessary capital improvement projects, Beckett said.

There is no cost-of-living/merit increase in the budget, but there are funds for the Performance Bonus Program.

"In the current year, we are proposing that the County M&O millage rate remain the same, the Hospital millage decrease slightly, and the Roads and Recreation millage rates increase slightly," he said. "This would affect the segment of residents who had a reassessment that increased."

Under the first draft of the budget, unincorporated county residents would have the same total millage rate. Unincorporated county residents who had their homes valued higher this year than last year would see an increase based on that reassessment.

"It is being proposed that the cities pay for the services they are receiving, and as such, they will see an increase over last year's millage," Finance Director Christy Carpenter explained. "Springfield and Guyton are proposed to pay the recreation millage. Rincon is proposed to pay their portion of the Fort Howard roundabout -- Rincon's road project being facilitated through the county with GDOT. However, the cities will also see the reduction in the hospital millage which will offset these."

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