Commissioners expected to adopt rollback millage rate | News

“Yep,” Commission Chairman John Reidelbach said in agreement.

The commissioners held a special work session in the afternoon before their regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the fiscal year 2024 budget. County Administrator Michael Fouts presented the commissioners with a rough draft of the budget so that the commissioners could give their guidance as staff moved forward in the process.

No draft of the budget was provided to the public.

“Typically what occurs is in August, we bring to you a proposed millage rate for consideration,” Fouts told the commissioners. “After the millage rate is set, we bring you a proposed budget.”

This year, the staff was adding the extra step of the work session to give the commissioners more time to consider the budget, he said.

Over the years, the millage rate has decreased as the tax digest has grown, Fouts said. There have been a few exceptions when the county has started a new initiative or received mandates from the state, he said.

For fiscal year 2024, the staff’s stated goals for the budget are to maintain the current level of service and incorporate a per diem for board and authority members who serve as unpaid volunteers. The staff also plans to include merit raises, absorb health insurance increases and pay retirement fees for eligible employees.

The budget also would include personnel requests to accommodate the addition of a third state court judge and staffing the Coweta County Jail expansion.

In 2022, the…