The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors held a work session Tuesday devoted to setting its 2025 budget.  Unless there is a significant change of heart on the part of the supervisors, the county is prepared to spend more than it takes in, which is never a good idea, especially at a time when the economy is thriving.

Supervisors are poised to dip into the county’s reserve to cover a $2.3 million shortfall in the budget proposal prepared by the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District, which assumed that task a couple of weeks ago after the county terminated its county administrator, Delois Farmer, in mid-August.

As they reviewed the proposed budget, supervisors added 11 new positions, including five new sheriff’s deputies, a human resources manager, an information technology director, a part-time engineer and three additional road department workers. They also added new vehicles and equipment  for the sheriff and road departments. All told, these additions would amount to an extra $2.66 million in expenses. An increase in the mill value will provide a little more than $300,000 of that. The remainder would come from cash reserves. It’s a bold move, considering that no one at Tuesday’s meeting even knew how much money the county has in reserve. It’s like writing a check when you don’t know how much money you have in the bank.

We have long argued that dipping into reserves to cover recurring expenses is bad policy. Payroll is a recurring expense so the cost of adding those 11 new employees will have an impact on the county’s budget for years to come.

Normally, when local governments need to add employees, those costs are a part of the budget, not add-ons.

Supervisors justify underfunding the budget by saying that there may be other sources – state grants, for example – that might cover a portion of the extra funds needed. They also believe that when the county’s appraisal formula is changed in 2026, it will produce the funds required to cover the additional hires. The county will have to endure two full budget years before that happens.

Board President Marvell Howard said choosing to cover the budget shortfall by dipping into reserves instead of raising property taxes is a show of respect to the taxpayer.

That’s a dubious claim because in 2026, the new appraisal formula is likely to increase property taxes by 20%. It’s pretty clear that the supervisors have no plans or desire to soften the blow of that increase since they’re already counting on those funds to cover the cost of the new hires in this budget.

One way or the other, taxpayers are ultimately going to pay more. Pay now or pay later. Either way, property owners are on the hook.

At this point, no one has even been asked to explain why these additional hires are immediately necessary. The taxpayers deserve an answer to that question. If Howard wants to show respect for taxpayers, that would be the obvious place to start.

A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for Thursday. At that point, supervisors should know how much money it has in reserve. We also suggest they think long and hard about adding these employees by using those reserve funds, which are a hedge against unforeseen circumstances.

It’s nice to have “rainy day” funds, but when the supervisors are the ones who are making it rain, it defeats the purpose.

We do not believe that to be a wise course of action.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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