July 24, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Your county property tax rate will remain the same for another year.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW PDF OF 2018-19 DEKALB COUNTY BUDGET)
DeKalb-FINAL 2019 Budget 6-21-18.pdf (270.1 KB)
The County Commission Monday night adopted the new consolidated budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year and set the property tax rate at $1.8335 per $100 of assessed value, the same as last year. The vote was 13-0 in each case.
The tax rate is to be divided among the funds as follows:
County General: 0.9635 cents
Highway/Public Works: 0.03 cents
General Capital Projects: 0.10 cents
Debt Service: 0.13 cents
General Purpose Schools: 0.61 cents
The $42.9 million county spending plan is funded by local, state, and federal dollars.
One cent of the property tax rate generates $46,658 at a 94% collection or 6% delinquency rate.
The new budget includes funds to cover pay raises approved earlier this year under wage scales for county employees including the sheriff’s department and ambulance service staff. An additional employee position is also being funded for the Assessor of Property’s Office. State approved pay raises for county officials are included in the budget.
From the capital projects fund the county plans to spend $165,000 to purchase and equip five new patrol cars for the sheriff’s department; $135,000 for a new ambulance; $165,000 (set side) for a fire hall in the Four Seasons Community;$40,000 for courthouse repairs and $10,000 for repairs to the Omega Apparel building.
The school budget includes a local pay raise (or bonus) of $600 for all certified personnel including teachers along with the additional $600 pay increase they are getting from the state for a total of $1,200. Support staff will also get a local $600 pay hike (or bonus).
The Board of Education had asked that the county commission authorize the teacher and support staff pay raises to be funded from the school system’s share of the local option sales tax revenues instead of the school system’s fund balance (reserves). The commission took no action on the request.
County Mayor Tim Stribling explained that nearly all the money allocated to the school system from the local purpose tax fund (sales taxes) is spent each year for schools.
“If you look at 2017 and these are audited figures, we budgeted $2,500,000 (sales tax money for schools). We actually collected $2,653,000. We give to schools $1,540,000 from that fund every year to operate on in the general fund and then we pay from $800,000 to $900,000 every year toward school debt. Last year it was $829,853. We also had to pay the Trustee’s commission of $26,360. That put our expenditures from that fund at $2,396,213. That left us with $257,173 more than we spent. As of June 30 this year, we ended the local purpose fund in the black by $358,784 which put that fund balance $1,968,932,” said County Mayor Stribling.
One problem with allocating more funding is that the sales tax collections fluctuate each year.
“We ended 2017 in the black at $257,173 (local purpose fund for schools) but in 2015 we gained only $3,909 so everything we budget for schools from that fund is pretty much spent each year. And if we have a recession and the sales tax revenue doesn’t come in as much then we could have to go into the fund balance to offset that,” added Stribling.
“At this time don’t they have six million dollars of their own money that they have not spent that they have collected from us,” asked Sixth District Commissioner Betty Atnip?
“They finished 2017 with a fund balance of $6.1 million,” answered County Mayor Stribling.
“So they have their own money,” added Atnip.
While the school system ended the year 2014 in the red by $253,836, it was back in the black by $144,159 at the close of the 2015 budget year; by $153,335 in 2016; and by $1,052,912 in 2017 putting the fund balance or cash reserves for schools at $6.1 million. The school budget is projected to close out the 2018 year in the red by $886,937 but actual numbers are not yet known.
In addition to the pay raises, the budget for schools includes $65,000 in new money to buy science textbooks.
One new school bus will be purchased.
Money to purchase Chrome Books for the 3rd through 5th grades at a cost of $240,000 will be carried over since it was budgeted this past year and not spent. Students from the 6th grade through high school already have Chrome Books. Extra funds ($20,000) is included to repair and replace existing Chrome Books.
The school budget has $10,000 in new spending for meeting mandates of state evaluation and testing.
Due to the increasing demands of technology, the school board plans to make a current half time computer tech position full time ($13,150 in new money) which would give the school system three techs.
Extra funds are also in the budget for employee matching benefits and $2,500 to help schools cover their phone bills.
County funding to non-profit organizations for 2018-19 is as follows:
Upper Cumberland Development District: $ 2,000
Tennessee Forestry Division:$ 1,500
Plateau Mental Health Center: $ 7,180
Senior Program: $ 38,029.05 (includes $6,000 for Alexandria Senior Center)
DeKalb County Soil Conservation District: $ 41,991.21
Chamber of Commerce:$ 17,500
Veterans Services Cemetery $ 7,215
DeKalb County Rescue Squad: $ 22,821
Upper Cumberland Human Resources: $ 1,200
Upper Cumberland Reconnect: $925
Imagination Library:$ 7,200
Veterans Honor Guard:$ 2,000
DeKalb County Fair: $ 1,500
WCTE $ 5,000
Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center: $ 1,780
UCHRA Assessment – Homemaker Aide, etc. $ 9,245
Genesis House: $ 1,500
TOTAL NON-PROFITS $ 168,586.26