The Leflore County Board of Supervisors has formally adopted a $27.3 million budget for the year beginning Oct. 1 following a brief public hearing Thursday that drew no public comment.
The fiscal blueprint includes an estimated
$14.3 million to be spent out of the general fund, which is primarily supported through local property taxes. The budget leaves the tax rate, except for school taxes, unchanged at 69.54 mills.
School taxes will, however, see an increase of 14% to 44.12 mills as a result of the consolidation of the Leflore County and Greenwood school districts.
Although the supervisors have no legal control over school taxes, District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham said he would vote next year against the budget if the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District asks for another increase in school taxes. For county residents, school taxes have risen almost 29% since 2011.
“They’ve got this full year to try to figure out how they can save money,” said Abraham about the consolidated school district.
District 3’s Anjuan Brown, who works for the school system as its chief of safety, said the change in the tax rate was directed by the state to equalize what city and county residents are paying to support the schools. While school taxes for county residents are going up, Greenwood taxpayers will see a 21% decrease in the rate compared to what they paid to support the former Greenwood School District.
Brown said he agreed with District 5’s Robert Collins that the county needs to put pressure on Mississippi lawmakers and the governor to better fund education. Lawmakers have only fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the formula by which state dollars are appropriated to public schools, twice since the Legislature adopted it in 1997.
“To me it seems like there was a plan to put the burden on the local people. Kind of like throwing a rock and hiding their hand,” Brown said.
Abraham also noted that the budget may have to be amended later in the year to account for the $546,000 the county will be required to send to the Office of State Aid Road Construction to proceed with building the 1.5-mile road connecting Viking Road to Mississippi 7. Earlier this week, the supervisors approved going forward with the $9.1 million project.
The budget was approved 3-0. Brown recused himself because of his employment in the school district, and Board President Wayne Self was absent.
•Contact Tim Kalich at 581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
