Taxes in Lowndes County are going up next fiscal year.
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors approved its 2023 budget Thursday morning, and it came with a 3.57-mill tax increase, with 2 mills of that going to Lowndes County and the balance to the Lowndes County School District.
Lowndes County’s mill levy will go up from 93.12 to 96.7, with a mill being worth $753,000. Of that figure, the county’s portion is 45.26 mills and the levy for the LCSD is 51.44.
Mills are used to measure real and personal property taxes. A 3.57-mill increase means the tax bill of a property owner will increase by $35.70 per every $100,000 of assessed property value not covered by Homestead exemption.
The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The budget is based on $53,840,487 in revenues and $75,141,275 in expenditures. That apparent imbalance is misleading, explained County Administrator Jay Fisher.
“That includes $5.6 million in (federal American Rescue Plan Act) funding that we’re estimating we’re going to spend,” he said. “That’s money we already have.”
Also included is $1.4 million in grants for an emergency access road to Manufacturer’s Loop; $3.2 million in state appropriations for the ongoing rail project at the Lowndes County Port; $10,000,000 in General Obligation bond money to build the sportsplex; and $200,000 to finish the horse park, which was included in the sportsplex bond issuance.
“Those are all projects where we have the money in hand,” he said. “While it looks like a $21 million deficit, we already have the funds in hand for all of those projects, but we don’t have the receipts reflected in this budget year.”
Similarly deceptive is the budget for the Road Department, which apparently decreases from $11.2 million to $7.4 million. Again, the disparity is due to last year’s $5 million debt to do additional road work, Fisher said.
“Its base budget for last year was actually $6.2 million,” he said. “So it actually is an increase over last year’s budget.”
That increase is tied to inflation and rising costs for fuel and parts, he said.
Another area that saw a sizable budget increase was the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Fisher said, which went from $4.9 million to $5.8 million.
“The majority of those costs were in two places,” Fisher said. “There was a huge increase in fuel. They also had vehicle maintenance costs. Because they weren’t able to get their leased vehicles last year we had to put that back in.”
The budget for the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center went up to $4.2 million, an increase of $303,000, Fisher said, driven largely by increased costs, especially for food.
“After this year they are going to have to renegotiate their food contract,” he said. “That cost went up about $100,000 alone.”
To combat that rising costs, the county just worked out a deal for a phased increase in the rate it charges Columbus to house city inmates.
The rate had previously been $25 per day, and next year it will go up to $30. Within three years it will be $45.
The budget also includes cost of living raises throughout most county departments, Fisher said.
“The raises are not across the board,” he said. “Some people got more, some got less, it varied by department. It’s mainly for cost of living, and because of the impact of inflation.”
The county will not be making a withdrawal from the hospital trust fund this year, Fisher said.
“After we made our withdrawal last year, the fund stood at $38.8 million,” he said. “As of Aug. 31, it was worth $35.7 million. We lost $3 million last year, so we will not be able to withdraw.”
The board will vote on whether to make a withdrawal from that money at its next meeting, Fisher said.
“In theory they could vote to take money out, but they won’t,” he said.
President Trip Hairston said the budget was tight this year.
“It was a belt-tightener,” Hairston said. “It’s a little bit of an issue wondering where we’re going to go for fuel. We don’t know what maintenance issues we’re going to have with the Road Department.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion