From Staff Reports

The Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing later this month on the county budget for 2008-09 and a proposed tax increase.

According to an advertisement of the hearing being published in the Progress-Times, the board is proposing increases of 2.2 percent in ad valorem tax revenue, 5.68 percent in the certified tax rate and 6.9 percent in the county's expenditure budget. The latter is from $5.65 million to $6.04 million.

The hearing is slated for Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. in the courtroom of the Webster County Courthouse in Walthall. The board will make a final decision on the proposed tax increase and budget at that day's meeting or the next one. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The board met to work on the proposed budget July 14-17 and July 28, and voted July 31 to advertise for the public hearing.

Minutes of the July 14 meeting reflect that, while working on the Justice Court budget, Charles Rivers (District 3) excused himself from the meeting room until that budget was complete because his daughter is employed as a deputy clerk there.

Voter Precinct

Building Grant

Additionally, on July 28, supervisors voted to amend the county's audit contract with Watkins Ward and Stafford to extend the deadline by 31 days until Aug. 31.

The board adopted a resolution July 31 to apply for a grant from the Mississippi Development Authority to build a new voter precinct building in District 5. Also at the meeting, records show the board voted to:

€ hire Traci Dewberry as a part-time dispatcher at the sheriff's office.

€ allow the Starkville School District's Family First Resource Center to use office space in the Justice Court wing of the County Office Building two-three days a week. No phone or other amenities will be provided and the FFRC staff must not interfere with court operations.

€ adopted a new travel expense sheet as the county's official form for mileage reimbursement requests. Supervisors directed that no travel reimbursement be allowed by count workers unless the travel expense sheet is completed as attached to the request for reimbursement. They also increased the mileage expense to 52 cents a mile effective Oct. 1.