The Simpson County Board of Supervisors held a day long budget discussion Monday before coming up with a preliminary budget to consider adopting for the 2018-19 budget year.
One of the questions that always surfaces is “what it the valuation of a mill?” Actually, that depends on where one lives, but the general valuation is $190,442. That value will vary based on whether one lives in the city and just exactly what kind of mill it is with regard to items like education. But for simplicity’s sake -- $190,442.
The stated goal of the county was not to raise taxes. There is, however, some good news for county employees. After much discussion the board appears to have compromised with a 2.5 percent increase for employees for the next budget year starting in October.
Three of the five supervisors, Brian Kennedy, Mickey Berry and Danny Craft, opted for 2 percent and Randy Moore and Curtis Skiffer opted for 3 percent raises. After discussion, the board agreed to compromise at 2.5 percent.
Members discussed being able to pay adequate wages to employees and the fact that if not for the benefits the county offers like insurance and retirement, they would not be able to fill some of the jobs because they would not have applicants.
As it stands, the budget for the upcoming year will be $8,147,358 plus approximately $130,000 for a cost of living raise for employees.
This did not come without some additional requests. The Sheriff’s Department requested an increase of $96,000 to add two new deputies. The supervisors did agree to hire one, but that person’s primary responsibility would be to provide security at the court house and the chancery building. The board did not agree to any other raises for Sheriff’s Department personnel.
The board also did not approve raise requests in the circuit clerk’s office other than the 2.5 county wide raise.
This raise will only affect the pay of employees, not of elected officials.
The board approved the purchase of three new vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department.
The board is also planning to get equipment to do road repair, including a chip spreader, a tar truck and possibly a mini-excavator for bridge repair.
These budget figures are not final but must be approved during upcoming budget hearings. The actual budget hearing is set for September 14 at 9 a.m. in the county board room in Mendenhall.
