Supervisors approve $46M budget
Tate County residents will pay less in ad valorem taxes for the next 12 months after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $46 million budget for 2023 that includes a significant reduction in millage rate.
“Supervisors are following through on their promise to lower taxes, improve road infrastructure and enhance public safety,” said County Administrator Cole Massie. “They are using funds requested from state and federal sources as opposed to increasing local taxes to fulfill commitments to taxpayers.”
Tate County Supervisors presented the budget for Fiscal Year 2023 at a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 6, that includes a base millage rate of 75.60, a reduction of one mill when compared to the previous year. Supervisors officially adopted the budget after no objections were made.
There’s even better news for citizens who live in the Tate County School District. Those residents will see a 4.89 overall millage reduction in ad valorem taxes if the assessed value of their property did not increase for 2023. That decrease will also ease the financial pain when purchasing or renewing a tag for your vehicle.
TCSD gave back of 3.89 mills to taxpayers, including 3.5 mills after it paid off a school bond issued in 2006 for completed projects at Independence and Strayhorn. Tate County residents rejected a $7 million school bond request in March and a $6.5 million bond in June with a major emphasis on constructing a $5.8 million gymnasium at Strayhorn High School.
The county millage rate has seen a huge drop over the last four years for people who live in the Tate County School District from 152.5 in 2018 to 131.92 for 2023.
“No one wants to pay higher taxes. That includes us because we must pay them too,” said Tony Sandridge, President of the Board of Supervisors. “We have a responsibility to maintain infrastructure and being good stewards of the county’s money. We are proud of the direction we are headed.”
Massie said the goal is to ultimately lower the millage rate so that it is comparable to the approximate 126.5 average of all counties in northwest Mississippi.
Supervisors completed several projects throughout the county this year and were still able to remain under budget including an overall upgrade to the E-911 system, a new security system and parking lot for the Tate County Courthouse, ordering two new fire trucks for District 1 and Looxahoma and purchasing new voting machines.
The county also issued a road bond to repair the most traveled roads in the area and the ones in the worse condition without a tax increase. To enhance local public safety, Supervisors are entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Tate County Sheriff’s Office and the Tate County School District to share the cost of four resource officers that will provide security and protection at Coldwater, East Tate Elementary, Independence and Strayhorn.
Massie said Tate County School District will pay salaries for school resource officers the first year, while the county would cover the cost of necessary equipment, including four vehicles, and training. In the second year, TCSD will pay 25% of the cost and increase its contribution to 75% in six years.
The Tate County budget takes effect Oct. 1, the official start of the 2023 Fiscal Year.
