Oktibbeha County employees will receive a 3-percent cost-of-living adjustment in Fiscal Year 2016-17 as supervisors added the annual raise to their budget Tuesday.
Both supervisors and Starkville aldermen approved their governing bodies’ respective millage rates and operating budgets for the upcoming fiscal year in separate meetings, and both financial plans support economic development and improvement projects through tax increases.
Supervisors increased taxes by 2.75 mills for the upcoming fiscal year, while aldermen implemented a 3.6-mill increase beginning Oct. 1.
Ad valorem rates affect how much residents pay for real property, including taxes on homes, rental properties, businesses, business fixtures and equipment, car tags and utilities.
The additional 2.75-mill increase for residents of outlying Oktibbeha County means a homeowner utilizing homestead exemption will pay an additional $27.50 annually per $100,000 of assessment, while a Starkville resident’s combined 6.35-mill increase from the city and county means the homeowner will pay an additional $63.50 annually per $100,000 of assessment.
Commercial property owners pay a higher ratio.
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said residents understand the importance of raising taxes to help fund job creation and infrastructure improvements.
“Everyone seems like they’re willing to step up to the plate on this,” he said. “We’re excited about getting things accomplished. We need to get things rolling, get good announcements on the economic development end, get some good news about how to utilize the additional millage (for infrastructure projects) and make a great impact on the county.”
The upcoming county rate on real property outside of Starkville, Maben and Sturgis is 121.74 mills, which includes a previously approved 66.03-mill levy for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
Tax rate in cities
Residents living within those municipalities will pay a 119.32-mill rate for county and school district services, as a specific 2.42-mill levy for county volunteer services is not included.
Starkville residents’ combined tax rate will increase to 144.9 mills with the 25.58-mill levy set by aldermen Tuesday.
Although no cost-of-living adjustment was included in the city’s tax increase, aldermen previously mandated a minimum $10 hourly rate for all city employees to begin July 1. Starkville firefighters will see those minimums begin early as a skills and rate progression plan adopted last week will go into effect April 1.
The lion’s share of both boards’ tax increases — 1.75 mills from the county and 2.6 mills from Starkville — represent supervisors’ and aldermen’s investment in economic development. Previously, both boards agreed to fund debt service associated with a new Golden Triangle Development LINK-backed industrial park that will locate northeast of the Highway 82-Highway 25 bypass.
Supervisors also tacked on an additional mill to either add revenue to its bridge fund or service a road bond, while aldermen also approved a Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins-backed 1-mill increase to fund Starkville Police Department renovations.
Those renovations began last month, and the project is forecast to conclude in May.
Supervisors are expected to broach a bond intent resolution for road repairs this winter and could schedule a work session on the matter in October.
“We’d like to have the money in hand and start bidding things out when it’s slow for our road department,” Trainer said. “The big thing is to jump on it as quickly as possible. It’s all about preparing for the good weather when the weather is bad.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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