Members of the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors said Monday that they understand what it’s like to get less funding from the state, but that doesn’t mean you have to raise taxes.
Board members took issue with a recent report where officials with the Yazoo County School District said a local tax increase is likely next year due to state funding cuts.
District 4 Supervisor Jayne Dew said the county cut its budget last year to offset the four percent increase by the Yazoo County School District.
“We absorbed it last year,” Dew said. “The state has cut us too. I don’t mean to get on my soapbox...”
“You need to,” said District 1 Supervisor Van Foster.
Board President Cobie Collins said the thing that bothers him the most is that the school district wants to maintain over $2 million in savings.
“They could use that money to pay for the things they need or they could even borrow against it,” Collins said. “The county would love to have that kind of money in savings, but we don’t ask for anymore from the taxpayers than we need.”
The Yazoo County School District is currently operating with a projected total budget revenue of $18,153,909. Of that amount, $$5,974,717 of the money is obtained through ad valorem taxes. For the upcoming fiscal year, the district is projected to operate with a $19,200,672 budget. Of that amount, $5,957,237 is proposed to be funded by ad valorem taxes.
“The schools are proposing a budget increase of about a million dollars,” Collins said.
Dew said the county has had to make sacrifices to keep from raising millage in recent years, and some of those sacrifices have been painful.
“Our infrastructure needs attention, and our employees haven’t had a raise in a long time,” Dew said.
“If it wasn’t for our insurance plan, I can’t see why anyone would want to work for the county,” Collins said.
Collins said if the school district insists on passing a tax increase, the county may have to try to see if there is a way to stop it.
The discussion of tax revenue began with a request from CF Industries for a 10-year tax exemption on nearly $17 million in construction completed at the Yazoo City plant.
Board members agreed that they want to support the plant as much as possible because it provides quality jobs and gives back to the community, but they agreed that a 10-year exemption was too much.
“Our tax base is flat, and our expenses are steadily growing,” said Dew. “At some point we are going to have to recognize that. Each time we grant an exemption, it hurts us financially. We need to think long and hard on the things that we’re doing.”
The board agreed to grant a seven-year exemption of 75 percent. The school district will still receive 100 percent of its portion.
In other business during Monday’s meeting:
n County Administrator Donna Kraft said the county has been awarded a $75,000 waste tire grant.
n Kraft also said that the Sheriff’s Department has been awarded another grant for the DUI officer for $32,837. The grant pays for the salary of the DUI enforcement officer and for the officer to attend a training conference.
n The board was introduced to Tim Wade, who will manage local ambulance services for MedStat in Yazoo County. Wade is a regional manager who covers several counties.
The board also passed a resolution honoring Winston Jones, the late local MedStat manager who died recently.
“Winston was a special guy to us,” Dew said. “It wasn’t just the good work he did with the ambulance services; he was involved with everything we had going on in this community.”
