The Jones County supervisors have proposed a tax rate decrease of one-half mill for the 2021 fiscal year budget.
According to a tax levy form provided by the supervisors, last year’s millage rate of 132.73 will drop to 132.23 this year. The total millage levied is divided up between county purposes (64.89 mills) and school purposes (67.34 mills).
One mill is equal to $1 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, which is typically a percentage of the property’s actual value.
So, what does that mean for Jones County residents? It means the total millage to be levied to fund the Fiscal Year 2021 Jones County budget will drop, but the overall budget numbers will see an uptick. Based on information from Notice of Budget Hearing and Proposed Tax Rate for Jones County, the proposed revenue for the next fiscal year is $52.76 million. Of that amount, $27.77 million (52.6%) will come from an ad valorem tax levy. The supervisors are currently operating with projected total budget revenue of $42.98 million with $26.86 million (62.5%) of that coming from ad valorem sources.
“The budget and tax levy proposed today by the Jones County Board of Supervisors accomplishes its current needs while cutting the tax rate by 1/2 mill,” read a memo that was released by the supervisors Monday at their meeting in Laurel. “This is in the face of a challenging year, with a pandemic and three major tornadoes affecting many Jones County citizens.”
Some of the highlights of the proposed budget include funding for three additional road deputies, four additional jailers and an updated auto fleet for the Sheriff’s Department. The proposed budget also includes funding for courthouse security and sanitation methods to control the spread of COVID-19.
“The board is proud to accomplish these important needs while also cutting taxes and plans to make efforts to continue to reduce taxes in the future,” continued the memo.
Some of the largest proposed expenditures for the county in FY2021 include the following: Tornado clean-up ($8.0 million), Roads and Bridges Maintenance ($7.86 million), Bond I&S Repayment ($4.33 million), Sheriff Department ($3.73 million), Jails ($2.86 million), Emergency Management ($2.79 million), and Garbage Service ($2.49 million). Thirteen individual county departments or funds have projected budget expenditures of $1.0 million or higher, while the total projection of all expenditures is $54.96 million for FY2021; however, $3.18 million of that total is pass-through expenditures for Jones College and Pat Harrison Waterway.
Other revenue sources that will supplement the ad valorem revenue include federal funding, funding from the State of Mississippi and fees for services (such as garbage service fees).
The drop in the millage rate means that taxpayers in Jones County will pay less on ad valorem taxes on their homes, automobile tags, utilities, business fixtures and equipment, and rental properties, contingent on the assessed values of those properties remaining the same.
Citizens are invited to attend a public hearing on the proposed ad valorem tax rate on September 8 at 10:00 a.m. at the Ellisville Courthouse. Residents will be allowed to speak to the supervisors for a reasonable amount of time before they vote to accept or reject the proposed budget.
OTHER BOARD ACTION
The supervisors also heard from Steve Graves, who was representing Merchants Park, about the desire of parents to see their kids play ball there. Games at Merchants Park have been restricted due to the coronavirus outbreak. He said parents have been keeping his phone ringing.
“The parents want their kids playing ball,” stated Graves. “They feel that if their kids can sit inside a classroom, then they can play outside.”
“That’s the way I feel too,” agreed Board President Johnny Burnett. “We support the parents on this.”
Burnett then asked Graves if he felt attendees of the games could follow guidelines established by the state.
“I think we can do better than the government does,” Graves responded.
Anthony Hudson then spoke to the board members regarding the Confederate statue in front of the Laurel Courthouse, saying that he rejects lawlessness but that the issue must be addressed.
“Have you really asked black people how we feel when we see the Confederate monument in front of the courthouse?” he asked.
“These monuments are something that are painful to a lot of people,” noted Beat 5 Supervisor Travares Comegys.
The supervisors also approved language that is slated to appear on the November ballot regarding the water fountains in front of the Ellisville Courthouse by a 4-1 vote. Comegys was the lone nay vote.
The water fountains became a focal point for the supervisors back in July when Donnie Watts laid out some reasons to the board members as to why they should pass a resolution to remove the fountains, which were labeled “white” and “colored” back during an era when black Mississippians were not allowed to drink from the same water fountains as whites in Jones County. The labels on the fountains have long been covered with plaster and then plaques.
The proposed language for the water fountain referendum reads: “The Jones County Board of Supervisors seeks to determine the will of the electorate of Jones County through the following referendum. Two nonfunctional water fountains are located at the west entrance of the Ellisville Courthouse with the word “Colored” engraved in one fountain and the word “White” engraved in the other fountain. However, the words have since been covered by plaques and are no longer visible. Do you support removing the water fountains?
“Yes, I support removing the water fountains.
“No, I do not support removing the water fountains.”