Citizens sound-off on MC budget

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter
Published: May 8, 2008

Madison County residents blasted officials at a May 6 meeting for proposing a budget they say includes “flawed priorities.”

A standing-room only crowd filled the County Administration Center for close to two hours while the board of supervisors listened to more than 40 local residents sound-off on the proposed 2008-2009 fiscal year budget.

Many in the audience donned blue-and-white stickers stating, “We’re Worth It!” – a plea for the county to increase its funds to support the school system’s budget, which currently includes the same amount of funding as the current budget year.

Due to decreases in state and federal money and rising costs, keeping local school funding the same as it was last year may force the county school system to eliminate proposed salary increases for teachers and money set aside for extracurricular activities, according to school representatives.
The Madison County Education Association – which sponsored a gathering on the Madison County Library’s lawn prior to the 7:30 p.m. hearing – handed out the stickers in an effort to “rally” support for the school board’s previously requested budget, which had included a 13.7 percent increase in local funds to support its 2008-2009 operating expenses.

Madison County High School Student Claire Jackson, one of many students who attended the hearing, told the supervisors that extracurricular programs, such as forensics and band, have been an important part of her education.

“They really enrich the high school experience for a lot of people,” she said, adding that if the school system does not cover part of the cost of involvement with these groups, many students from low-income families will be unable to participate.

Paul Morgan, a Madison County resident and former Wetsel Middle School teacher, said that the community would suffer in the long-run and schools may be left with “bottom of the barrel” teachers if the school’s budget is not increased to cover teachers’ salary increases.

“I believe we need to bite the bullet and increase their budget as much as possible or we will be penalized for it later,” Morgan said.
Brightwood resident Jean Kane said that although she supports providing quality education for the community’s children, she said the county’s expenses have grown at a much faster rate than the average resident’s income during the past 10 years.

“How do we ask middle- and low-income families to manage to support something that is growing at five times the speed of their income?” she asked the board.

Some residents suggested the supervisors cut funds in other areas of the budget, including money set aside for large construction projects and some county employees’ salaries, to more fully fund the school system.

Madison County Circuit Court Clerk Caroline Watts questioned why the budget includes a two and a half percent “cost of living” salary increase for the majority of county employees while some are set to receive increases greater than the “cost of living” adjustment.

“My concern is about disparities that are evident in the proposed budget,” she said.

The proposed budget includes larger salary increases for about 20 employees, including the board of supervisors’ office assistant/secretary, the director of finance and the director of facilities, according to the budget.

The larger salary increases for these positions were proposed in order to provide “uniform compensation for like service among county employees,” according to budget documents. Some of the salary increases also reflect additional job duties these county employees were previously not required to perform, the document states.

The salary increases for these employees account for an additional $38,000 within the budget beyond the standard “cost of living” salary adjustment.
Following the public comment portion of the hearing, the Madison County Board of Supervisors voted to advertise the following proposed tax rates:

*A real estate tax rate not to exceed 48 cents per $100 of assessed value. (This proposed rate would be increased from the equalized tax rate of 40 cents per $100 of assessed value, which was set following the county’s most recent reassessment.)

*A tangible personal property tax rate not to exceed $2.80 per $100 of assessed value. (This proposed rate would be increased from the equalized tax rate of $2.67 per $100 assessed value, which was set following the county’s switch from using a vehicle’s average retail value to using its loan value.)
*A machinery and tools tax rate not to exceed $1.47 per $100 of assessed value. (This proposed rate would be increased from the county’s current rate of $1.10 per $100 of assessed value.)

*A merchant’s capital tax rate of 86 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is the same as the current rate.

In order to comply with state regulations, the board must advertise proposed tax rates for 30 days prior to a public hearing. The rate the supervisors eventually set cannot be higher than the rate they advertise, although it can be lower.

“There are a lot of limitations once we advertise that tax rate…that’s why we need to make sure we have leeway,” Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean said, adding that he “might have to move to Louisa if we set a 48-cent tax rate.”

A 48-cent tax rate would raise approximately $1.56 million in additional money for the county, which currently faces a $900,000 budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.

During the next few weeks, the board of supervisors is expected to work to balance the budget and set tax rates.

A public hearing regarding the proposed 2008-2009 tax rates is expected to be on Monday, June 16, according to Finance Director Teresa Miller. The time has not yet been set and is expected to be advertised in an upcoming edition of The Eagle.