By Teresa Williams

teresa.williams@gaflnews.com



THOMASVILLE — Both the Grady County Board of Education and the Grady County Board of Commissioners gave final approval to their fiscal year 2010 operating budgets and their millage rates in called meetings Thursday morning.

Both governing bodies had to await the county tax digest before adopting their budgets and millage rates.

The Grady County Board of Education approved a millage rate of 12.9 mils, the current millage rate but less than the rollback rate of 12.935 mils.

The board also adopted its fiscal year 2010 budget of $38,398,463.

“We’ve discussed the budget for about a year,” Superintendent Dr. Tommy Pharis said after the meeting. “We started the process in 2008. We got feedback from staff and the community and cut the budget.

“We have cut all the fringe items as far as supplies and equipment, salaries and supplements have been cut, we’ve reduced staff, primarily through attrition, and made wise use of some stimulus funds. The board made a lot of tough decisions but I think, overall, the staff and the community understands they had to be made.”

Finance Director Dan Broome said a mil is expected to generate approximately $591,000 before the collection fee is deducted, leaving a total of about $576,600 per mil.

Broome said this rate will leave the system short in funding the budget — which could be made up via fund balance, if necessary — but the exact shortfall is still up in the air because there is another possible cut in state funding this school year.

“We’re trying to hold the millage rate down as best we can,” he said. “We are committed to trying to hold taxes where they are.”

The Grady County Board of Commissioners gave final approval, 3-0, to its 10.5 mils, the same as last year’s rate, and its operating budget of $10,930,599, about $400,000 less than the 2009 budget.

“I would have liked to have seen a decrease, but considering the fact we had to use $243,000 in reserves to balance the approved budget, we did not want an underfunded budget,” Vice-Chairman Al Ball said after the meeting.

County Clerk Carrie Kines said the board also approved a 2010 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Capital Spending Plan of $2,740,000 and no increases in the 2010 Pay Plan/Pay Classification.

“Basically, we’re trying to keep costs under control for next year because of the downturn in revenues,” Ball said. “We had to go into reserves to balance the budget and made the decision not to increase. Had we given any increases, it would have meant a higher millage.”

Ball said most projects in the approved SPLOST plan pertain to roads.

“We went through our approved projects lists and decided what could be done this year,” he said. “A major project that comes to mind is resurfacing Old 179 Highway.”