The Newton County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $13 million county-wide budget and tax levy for the 2020 fiscal year after a public hearing on the proposed budget raised no new concerns.
The budget, County Administrator Steve Seale explained, is very similar to budgets in previous years. There were no major changes or big expenses anticipated over the next 12 months.
“Right now, I have figured a 20 percent increase for insurance. The increase for retirement was 1.75 percent,” he said.
The FY 2020 budget shows the county spending $13,164,194 over the next year. Of that, $6.8 million will come from the tax levy, $1.8 million from charges for services and $282,000 from state and federal sources.
The largest county expense for the coming year will be public works, with more than $4.6 million budgeted for that use. General government and public safety account for another $3.8 million and $2.7 million respectively.
The good news, Seale said, is the county is doing a good job of paying down their debts, which freed up some money for other uses this year.
“There’ll be a decrease in the debt service funds,” he said.
Debt service costs for county bonds decreased, as did debt costs for Union Public School District, Board President Charles Godwin said. Debt for Newton County School District’s maintenance fund and Newton Municipal School District went up slightly.
For county employees, Seale said the FY2020 budget also includes a 2 percent raise across the board. The exception, he said, is the tax assessor’s office, which the board had previously agreed to pay more as the employees are helping Newton County Solid Waste collect outstanding payments.
“May (Bender) requested $10,000. I put that in her budget but took out the 2 percent raise there,” he said.
Newton County 911 dispatchers will also be seeing a raise after Emergency Management Director Brian Taylor approached the board earlier this year about revising the pay scale for his employees. Taylor said Newton County was losing dispatchers to other counties, which offered higher pay.
Seale said the revised pay scale for dispatchers was also included in the 2020 budget.
The county will finish out the current fiscal year Sept. 30, with the FY2020 budget set to begin Oct. 1.
