Stephens County’s Smaller Proposed Tax Increase Heads to Final Hearing

Stephens County commissioners were scheduled to hold a final public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, on a proposed county-only property-tax increase of 1.64 mills, the last public step before expected board action. The proposal would bring the county-only rate to 15.69 mills, according to WNEG Radio’s July 21 reporting; the school district’s millage rate is separate and is not included in that figure.

The decision puts a direct cost to property owners alongside the county’s effort to finance its services without drawing down reserves. County Administrator Christian Hamilton initially described a proposed $42.6 million government-wide FY2024 budget, 4.9 percent above the prior year, citing higher health, liability and workers’ compensation insurance costs as well as expenses for volunteer fire, E911, emergency management, courts and the sheriff’s office. The original plan also included a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for most county employees.

The board’s starting point in June was a proposed 1.78-mill increase, which would have produced a 15.83 county-only rate. After commissioners met in a called meeting June 22 to look for savings, WNEG Radio reported they trimmed expenses and settled on a plan to reduce the proposed increase to about 1.64 mills. By July 11, the county had held its first two millage hearings, including a morning hearing with no public speakers, and moved toward the final hearing.

At the July 11 hearing, local resident Tom Barnes said he understood that inflation also affects county government but stressed that many residents were struggling financially, WNEG reported. Finance Director James Elrod responded that the county had reviewed the budget line by line, pointing to unfunded state mandates, employee raises, insurance increases and other requirements. Commissioner Chris Rickman had earlier said commissioners were trying to preserve service levels while avoiding use of fund balance; he also said uncertainty over a $1.2 million, four-year sheriff’s-office grant made it imprudent to rely on that money before its restrictions were clear.

The initial $42.6 million budget and 1.78-mill increase were proposals, while the 1.64-mill figure was reported as the reduced proposal. WNEG’s July reports said Hamilton described an FY2024 budget commissioners had recently adopted, giving its size as about $42.5 million, but no official vote record is included here to verify that budget action. More importantly for taxpayers, WNEG’s reporting documents hearings and expected adoption of the millage rate, not a completed vote on the 1.64-mill increase or any other final rate.

The next public event was the July 25 hearing, after which the Board of Commissioners was expected to consider the county-only rate. Residents still did not know whether commissioners would adopt the approximately 1.64-mill increase, revise it again or take another course. The account of those steps comes from WNEG Radio reporting rather than official meeting records, and it does not confirm the final millage vote or the rate ultimately adopted.