OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — Despite an additional $2.66 million in the county’s general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2025, supervisors will not increase taxes in Oktibbeha County.
Instead the county plans to spend roughly 82% of its general fund cash reserves to help cover the gap.
The board approved a FY 2025 budget Thursday, which will maintain the same tax rate as the previous fiscal year at 124.61 mills.
Of that, 58.62 will fund the county’s request, which includes both the general fund and special revenue funds specific to East Mississippi Community College, OCH Regional Medical Center and others. The remaining 65.99 levy will cover Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s funding request.
The general fund, which makes up $20.16 million of the total budget, will see an increase of $2.66 million from the current fiscal year.
Growth in the mill value will cover a little more than $300,000 of that increase. Instead of raising taxes, the board intends to cover the rest by pulling about $2.3 million from the county’s cash reserves.
District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver asked Golden Triangle Planning and Development District Government Specialist Tony Green if he sees any concerns with dipping into cash reserves to cover the difference. GTPDD has assisted the county with its budget after County Administrator Delois Farmer was terminated in August.
Green said it shouldn’t be an issue with the $2.8 million the county currently has in its general fund cash reserves. Board Attorney Rob Roberson, who is also the state representative for District 43, will help look for grants and other state funds to help cover additional costs, he said.
“There’s adequate cash reserves there,” Green told The Dispatch on Friday. “I have no concern at all with that being pulled from their cash balance.”
The budget would leave only $500,000 in the general fund cash reserves, but Roberson said there is no statutory minimum the county must keep there. The county does have a cumulative $29 million in reserve in other funds, but those are restricted and cannot be used to rescue the general fund deficit, he said.
The Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes 3% raises for full-time county employees and creating 11 new positions. Along with five sheriff’s deputies and three workers for the road department, the board also added a human resources manager, a part-time engineer and an information technology director to the budget.
Carver asked if hiring a part-time engineer would take business away from the current engineer. Clyde Pritchard, of Pritchard Engineering, now serves as a contracted engineer for the county.
“I actually think there’s a role for both,” said Marvell Howard, board president and District 3 supervisor. “I think there’s some things that a part-time engineer could handle for us without burdening (Pritchard). He will still be our state aid engineer and our bridge engineer, but an in-house engineer can handle a lot of the other things.”
Supervisors also discussed a $500,000 line item in the general fund for “other financing uses.” Green said the allocation is a supplement for the E-911 dispatch fund.
“The E-911 has to have a supplement,” he said. “It’s not self-supporting. I see that in just about every county, where the general fund has to supplement the E-911.”
Green said the school district’s request makes up the most of the total tax levy at 52%. General government funding makes up 25%, roads and bridges are 10% and the remaining 10% is spread among debt payments, special levies, the hospital and EMCC.
The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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