Coffee County panel approves no-tax package to fund deputiesraises and county pay increases

Coffee CountyBudget and Finance Committee members approved a package sending the countybudget to the full commission that avoids a proposed property-tax increase and directs one-year debt-service funds to help pay deputies and county employees.

Committee members voted to advance a motion that, as presented, keeps property tax rates unchanged for the coming year; provides targeted funding to address deputiespay parity; authorizes a 5% across-the-board pay increase for county employees to be allocated by department heads; and temporarily transfers $755,000 from the general debt-service account for one year to help cover the cost. The motion was made by Stubblefield and seconded by Hirschman, and was approved by voice vote.

The action follows repeated public comments and commissioner discussion about turnover in the sheriffdepartment and comparisons between Coffee County pay and neighboring municipal departments. A public commenter who identified himself as a county police officer urged a 20% raise for 17 deputies to bring starting hourly pay from about $19.31 to roughly $23.17, saying, "They need 20%. That would put them at $23.17 an hour." The speaker also proposed a temporary five-year wheel tax (also called a wheel/tax per vehicle) as an alternative revenue source, noting estimates that 55,000 registered vehicles at $20 each would generate roughly $1.1 million.

Committee members discussed several funding options during the meeting: the 10cent property-tax increase that had been previously proposed, a temporary wheel tax, tapping fund balance and targeted use of debt-service credits. Finance staff presented budget snapshots showing the effect of scenarios discussed in the meeting: with the 10cent property-tax increase and a 5% across-the-board raise, the countysnapshot still showed a projected shortfall in the hundreds of thousands; with other adjustments, the committeecalculated different deficit amounts depending on the raise level and whether the $755,000 debt-service transfer was used.

Several commissioners urged caution about long-term reliance on fund balance or on one-time transfers. One commissioner summarized the approach as a one-year measure, saying the debt-service transfer would be a temporary credit and would need to be restored later because those funds pay long-term bonds and debt obligations. At the committeemeeting close, members instructed staff to forward the approved package to the full commission for final action.

The committee recorded votes on several related budget amendments earlier in the meeting (see separate article), and approved the no-tax package by voice vote; the item will appear on the full commission agenda.