Caledonia residents incensed over recent sewer rate increases and the threat of higher water bills heard a bit of good news Tuesday night during the Board of Aldermen’s budget discussions.
The millage rate for Fiscal Year 2013 will remain at 6.75 mills, the same rate as last year.
The value of a mill in Caledonia has dropped from $17,500 to $11,500, partially due to a drop in the value of natural gas, Lowndes County District 1 Supervisor and Board President Harry Sanders said.
Caledonia claims eight percent of the revenue generated from an underground natural gas field, but the price of natural gas has fallen from $5 per cubic thousand feet to $2 per cubic thousand feet, Sanders said.
The town has six years remaining in a fee-in-lieu agreement with Caledonia Gas Storage Company, which pays $20,000 per year to store gas in the underground field.
The Board will not approve the proposed $314,000 budget until next month after a public hearing.
The bulk of the budget is allotted for payroll and expenses, with an estimated cost of $145,000. Other projected big-ticket items include Caledonia Day, budgeted at $25,000 and utilities and insurance, alloted $20,000 apiece.
An additional $25,000 will be used to construct sidewalks linking north Caledonia with the rest of the town. The up-front money will be reimbursed 100 percent by a Safe Routes to School sidewalk grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Alderman Bill Darnell said.
Mayor George Gerhart and the aldermen said they were pleased with the money left over in their coffers this year, and they’re glad they won’t have to raise millage.
“We’re very privileged to have as much money as we do to operate and in our rainy day account,” Mayor George Gerhart said after the meeting.
“I think it’s fine,” Alderman Quinn Parham said of the proposed budget. “We’re right on track. We’re just not spending a lot.”
The Board must adopt its budget by Sept. 15.
In other news, Caledonia resident Teresa Farrish was hired to serve as interim head of town maintenance through the end of the year, replacing Lawrence Darnell. She will be paid $8.50 per hour.
Ken Byars will serve as the Election Commissioner appointee, replacing Beverly Atkins.
The Board also agreed to pay $25 for Gerhart to represent the town at Columbus Air Force Base’s 70th annual birthday ball, slated for Sept. 14 at the Trotter Convention Center.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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