NATCHEZ, Miss. – The public next Tuesday will have a chance to voice concerns to Adams County supervisors about the tax increase being planned to help fund county government.
The supervisors’ proposed $2 million property tax hike is part of the $38 million budget they’re working on for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
Sept. 12 is the date the Board of Supervisors set for the 9 a.m. public hearing on the proposed budget and tax increase at their 314 State Street boardroom by the Adams County Courthouse.
The plan to increase the tax millage rate by 9.2 mills means people and businesses in Adams County next year would pay more taxes imposed on their residential properties, automobiles, commercial fixtures and equipment.
For most properties, this proposed tax increase in 2024 would be $138 per $100,000 value of the property assessed at 15 percent of its worth, according to county board attorney Scott Slover.
Supervisors have also discussed plans to increase the $15-a-month garbage fee now imposed on residents living outside Natchez to have their trash picked up. The board is considering raising this special tax to as much as $35 a month for the twice-a-week service.
The cost of the county’s curbside pick-up service went up by about $900,000 annually when supervisors voted 3-2 in April to renew the contract with the New Orleans-based company that hauls away trash for about 6,000 Adams County households.
Supervisors are combining tax increases with budget cuts as they face more expenses fueled partly by the higher costs of county government employees’ health insurance and pensions.
The Adams County Board of Supervisors since last October has been operating county government with an annual budget of $34.4 million in revenues. About $16.6 million of that is from property taxes. For the fiscal year that starts next month, the board is proposing a budget of about $38 million, with $18.5 million of that from the property tax levy.
With health insurance benefits provided to about 210 Adams County government employees, the increased cost for the county could be about $920,000 next year, according to a report presented last month to supervisors by budget advisor Chuck Lambert. The total cost of employees’ health insurance for the county is projected to be about $2.6 million in the coming year.
The board last month agreed to look for 10 percent across-the-board spending cuts throughout county government as revenues were projected to fall short in the coming year. Budget cuts or cost savings being discussed include about $600,000 in the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, which is county government’s largest department with about 75 employees.
Adams County jail cells are now largely empty because of the facility’s deteriorating conditions. Those arrested or sentenced in Adams County are being housed in the nearby Concordia Parish Correctional Facility. As more Adams County prisoners get incarcerated in the Louisiana facility, supervisors are considering cutting the county jail’s 16-employee jail staff by about 50 percent.
With Natchez no longer having a municipal jail, city detainees are also being housed in the Louisiana facility rather than the Adams County jail. Talks are underway between Adams County and Concordia Parish officials for a long-term commitment for housing inmates.
Natchez and Adams County have been paying Concordia Parish $30-a-day-per-inmate to house prisoners that would otherwise be in the county jail that had the capacity for about 80 criminal occupants.
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