The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, as well as a few other public officials, are getting a bump in pay in January, after the county’s assessed value increased.
County Administrator Jay Fisher told the board during its Monday meeting that due to the assessed value of taxable properties in the county surpassing $1 billion, the supervisors, justice court judges and the county prosecutor all are eligible for raises.
According to figures provided by Lowndes County Tax Assessor/Collector Greg Andrews, the county’s current assessed value is $1,046,889,966. Supervisor pay is set by state statute and is based on that value, Fisher said.
“The new salary (for supervisors) would be not to exceed $52,000,” Fisher said. “In any year you change from one (value) class to another, you stay in your original class until the succeeding January. So effective Jan. 1 we will be in our new class.”
The supervisors are currently paid $50,000 per year, a rate that has been in effect since July 1. During a June board meeting the supervisors gave themselves a raise of about $3,000, their first raise in about a decade.
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks moved to give the raise, with a second by District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith.
“I think salaries should be elevated to the maximum allowed,” Brooks said. “The pay’s always been kind of low.”
The motion passed unanimously.
“This is a testament to increased growth in the county, as far as industry is concerned,” said President Trip Hairston.
The increase also affects justice court judges and the county prosecutor, Fisher said. The pay for all of those positions also will rise to $52,000 per year. The raises go into effect Jan. 1.
Money for the raise was built into the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, Fisher said.
The law in question, Senate Bill 2719, allows supervisors to give themselves a raise, not to exceed $2,000, in 2024 and again in 2028.
Sheriff’s pay is determined by a different statute and is based on population, not assessed value.
Security cameras
Smith asked Sheriff Eddie Hawkins to look into installing more security cameras around the county.
Over the weekend a bullet hit a residence in Crawford. Hawkins said at the time that people were not cooperating with the investigation, leaving law enforcement little to go on.
Smith wondered if cameras, similar to the Columbus Police Department’s “sky cops,” might not be the answer.
The county bought several mobile cameras about a year ago, but Smith wants permanent ones in some trouble spots.
“Maybe we could put a camera or two up at the entrance and exit to certain communities,” Smith said. “You can’t stop crime, but extra eyes would help law enforcement.”
Hawkins estimated the cost at around $5,000 per camera, plus the digital storage necessary for the footage.
“I think it would be a great idea,” Hawkins said. “The more eyes on the street, the more it helps us, because we’re not getting cooperation from the community. There’s a shooting, but when we investigate there aren’t any witnesses who will tell us what they saw.”
Hawkins said if nothing else he thought the cameras would be a deterrent.
The board directed Hawkins to research the cost and how many cameras he thought the sheriff’s office would need.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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