Dooly County adopts 2009 millage and FY2010 budget amid tight revenues

The Dooly County Board of Commissioners adopted a 2009 tax levy and the county’s FY2010 spending plan at its Oct. 8 meeting, voting to keep the commission’s millage at 17.89 mills and approving a $13,137,686 general-fund budget and a $1,705,000 SPLOST budget.

The vote came as administrators reported revenue shortfalls in several categories, including prisoner board fees and probate-court receipts, prompting the board to authorize contingency borrowing. Administrator Stephen Sanders was authorized to secure a loan if needed; the commission previously approved borrowing authority in August and October as a precaution against delayed state distributions.

County Clerk Brenetta Childs presented the 2009 tax-digest certification before the vote. The commissioners framed the action as fiscal stewardship in an uncertain economy: the board adopted the budgets unanimously and instructed department heads to curb discretionary spending and identify cost savings.

The board also discussed personnel cost controls. In October commissioners briefly adopted a three-day employee furlough schedule to reduce payroll costs but later suspended mandatory furloughs pending updated revenue reports and departmental conservation measures.

Next steps: the county will monitor receipts and may draw on authorized short-term borrowing if the state’s homestead reimbursement or sales-tax receipts fall short. The commission scheduled additional budget reviews as needed.