Oktibbeha County’s recent road bond, its upcoming industrial park pledge, a funding increase for volunteer fire services and other tentative pledges are expected to increase taxes by 2.88 mills in the upcoming fiscal year.

Jumping from the current 55.71-mill assessment for general county operations and debt service, the tentative 58.59-mill rate supervisors unveiled during Tuesday’s work session for Fiscal Year 2017-18 does not include Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s forthcoming levy request.

SOCSD approved its FY 2017-18 budget earlier this month and is expected to operate at or about the 66.03-mill levy it utilized in its previous fiscal year. The school district’s exact tax rate was not present in documents utilized during Tuesday’s county work session.

A second work session to finalize the budget is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday before the board’s 5:30 p.m. recess meeting.

District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer said the projects funded by the tax increase will “put the county in a dynamic situation” in terms of economic development, infrastructure improvements and services provided to taxpayers.

“It’s not everything we need as a county, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “The industrial park and the road bond — these are steps we’ve been needing to take to help boost Oktibbeha County to the next level. I know there are some folks out there that might criticize (increased taxes), but there are also a lot of people out there that support investing in Oktibbeha County’s future.”

The 2.88-mill increase associated with the county’s 58.59-mill operational levy means homeowners in outlying Oktibbeha County would pay an additional $28.80 on their yearly tax bill. Starkville homeowners would be charged less by the county — an additional $26.40 annually — since they do not pay a specific levy funding Oktibbeha County Fire Services, but any savings on the county’s tax bill are easily negated by city taxes.

A tentative millage rate for Starkville is not yet known, but aldermen are expected to begin the budgeting process for the coming fiscal year in the coming weeks.

Both estimates do not account for tax breaks on property, like homestead exemption.

Oktibbeha County’s general operations budget includes line items for various funding streams, from its specific road and bridge funds to pledges for East Mississippi Community College and OCH Regional Medical Center.

The tentative budget adds two tax-specific line items: a 2-mill pledge to service debt associated with the county’s $7 million pledge for a Golden Triangle Development LINK-backed industrial park in north Starkville and a 0.48-mill levy to fund the county’s portion of construction costs with East Mississippi Community College’s Communiversity project in Lowndes County.

It also increases the Oktibbeha County Fire Services’ pledge from 2.42 mills to 2.66 mills — the maximum increase allowed by statute for one fiscal year — and increases debt service on the county’s $14.5 million road bond from 1.75 mills to 3.15 mills.

Those millage increases were offset by a 1.6-mill decrease in the countywide bridge fund, a 0.05-mill drop for servicing a 2010 OCH bond and a combined .019-mill, decreases to two other OCH-specific line items and the growth of Oktibbeha County’s assessed property value.

One county mill currently brings in $341,718, County Administrator Emily Garrard said. In the coming fiscal year, the same mill will provide $357,680.

Oktibbeha County’s tentative budget will also allow Sheriff Steve Gladney to add four new deputies, provide raises for justice court clerks, provide a number of in-kind contributions to civic groups and include a yearly 3-percent cost-of-living raise for county employees.

“I know taxes are going up, but I think we’re getting a lot done for not as much as we thought it would have been. I’m pleased seeing where we’re at and where we’re going,” said District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery. “(The increasing value of a county mill) is a great sign, because we’re growing at three times the rate as when I first took office. We need to string a lot of years of growth like this together and be good stewards of taxpayer money.”

Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch