In less than 12 hours Wednesday, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors and the Starkville Board of Aldermen approved property tax increases for the coming fiscal year.
At its 10 a.m. meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved a 2010-2011 budget with a 4.48-mill property tax increase, from 106.49 mills to 110.97. At 5:30 p.m., the Board of Aldermen approved a budget with a 0.45-mill tax increase, from 19.55 mills to 20 mills.
For the owner of a $100,000 home in Starkville, the increase equals about an extra $4.50 per year. For the owners of rental properties and businesses with assessed values of $100,000, the millage increase will equate to an extra $6.75 per year.
For the owner of a $100,000 home in Oktibbeha County, the increase equals an extra $44.80 per year in taxes. For businesses and rental properties valued at $100,000, the increased millage will equal an extra $67.20 per year.
While the 2009-2010 fiscal year Oktibbeha County budget included 5.14-mill tax increase, with 4.28 mills designated to pay for a portion of the OCH Regional Medical Center bond issue, the county is adding another 2.58 mills this coming year to help pay for the remainder of the bond issue. However, the 4.28 mills pledged last year is being reduced to 4.01 mills this year because the value of a mill has increased from $276,370 to $295,143 over the past 12 months due to the county”s increased assessed value, County Administrator Don Posey said.
Aside from the millage increase for the hospital bond, 1.25 mills in the proposed 2010-2011 Oktibbeha County budget would go to the general county fund, 0.45 mills would go toward roads and 0.55 mills would be used for bridges. The millage increases were necessary to help balance the budget, District 1 Supervisor Carl Clardy said.
“I assure you we didn”t have much choice,” Clardy said, shortly after three residents spoke out against the tax increase during the public comment period.
Longview resident Kay Henry was one of the residents opposed a tax increase, saying Social Security hasn”t increased and residents of Oktibbeha County can”t afford more taxes.
“I have a real hard time with you folks raising our taxes in the economic times we”re in,” Henry said.
One resident, however, said he was in favor of a tax increase to help improve OCH Regional Medical Center, improve county roads and maintain other county services.
“In general, I am against tax raises … but I don”t see where you really have any choice,” said county resident Lorenzo Crowell.
In Starkville, the millage increase will help balance the city”s budget, fund one shift at newly constructed Fire Station 5, reorganize city departments to form an Environmental Services Division and continue outside contributions to the Oktibbeha County Humane Society, the Starkville Boys and Girls Club, the Starkville Public Library and the Mississippi Horse Park, among other organizations.
The Board of Aldermen was tied with a 3-3 vote on the budget and tax increase, but Mayor Parker Wiseman cast the deciding vote in favor. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk, Ward 4 Alderman Richard Corey and Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas voted in favor of the budget, while Ward 3 Alderman Eric Parker, Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn Sr. were opposed. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver recused himself because his father works for the Starkville Fire Department and could be affected by budget decisions.
Vaughn raised some eyebrows among his fellow aldermen when he made a motion to amend the budget to include a $5,000 outside contribution to Smith-Well Inc., an organization which offers tutoring services to local youth. The move “unbalanced” the budget, Sistrunk said. She asked Vaughn if, instead of amending the budget, aldermen next week could agree to designate $5,000 from the city”s contingency fund for Smith-Well, Inc.
At Perkins” urging, Vaughn said he did not want to wait until next week, so Sistrunk made a motion to amend the budget to designate $5,000 from the contingency fund for Smith-Well. Vaughn then voted against the budget, saying he doesn”t favor a tax increase, even though it included the $5,000 for Smith-Well.
After the meeting, Parker said he voted against the budget because he wasn”t in favor of a tax increase, but he also criticized Perkins and Vaughn, both of whom spoke out repeatedly this budget season against non-essential outside contributions.
Smith-Well made a 10-minute presentation to the Board of Aldermen this summer and asked for funding, but Parker said he still didn”t know enough about the organization to support an outside contribution.
“I find it ironic that the people that wanted to cut all these outside contributions now want to give $5,000 to a company we know nothing about,” Parker said.
Aldermen Wednesday also approved an increase in sanitation rates from $10.50 per month to $13 per month for residential customers and $15.75 per month to $20 per month for commercial customers. The increase will help buy new equipment for the newly formed Environmental Services Division.
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