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Coffee County adopts FY2026-27 budget, lowers tax levy and provides 3% pay raise
Summary
The Coffee County Board of Commissioners approved the FY2026-27 appropriation resolution and set the county tax levy at 1.63; the budget includes a 3% county employee pay increase and $325,000 from fund balance to purchase five sheriff's vehicles.
Coffee County commissioners on June 23 approved Resolution 2026-14, adopting the county's fiscal year 2026-27 budget and setting the county tax levy. The measures passed with unanimous recorded support (16 yes votes) at the meeting.
Commissioner Morris, chair of Budget & Finance, said the tax rate was lowered to 1.63 to reflect reappraised property values and that many taxpayers will see little change in their bills. "We are not raising any property taxes this year," a commissioner stated; the reduction reflects reappraisal increases in assessed values.
The adopted budget includes a 3% pay increase for county employees. Commissioner Morris said department heads will decide how to distribute the 3% within each department, with a cap preventing department heads from awarding themselves a larger percentage than their employees. The county also will use $325,000 from fund balance to buy five sheriff's department vehicles, a purchase described as not depleting the fund balance.
Officials announced several capital project ribbon-cutting dates tied to the budget and capital outlay work: the county's animal control facility ribbon-cutting is scheduled for July 11 at 11:00 a.m.; a new health department building ribbon-cutting is scheduled for July 9 at 10:00 a.m.; and a TCAT ribbon-cutting is set for July 10 at 2:00 p.m. The Manchester library testing and reopening timeline was also discussed.
Votes at a glance - Resolution 2026-14 (FY2026-27 appropriations): Approved, 16 yes; includes a 3% employee pay increase and $325,000 allocated to purchase five sheriff vehicles. - Tax levy for FY2026-27: Approved, county levy set to 1.63 (16 yes). - Resolution 2026-13 (memorial for Joseph Michael Hodge): Approved, 16 yes (committee read the resolution honoring the late commissioner; transcript originally spells surname with a trailing 'j'; article uses corrected spelling). - Resolution 2026-16 (rezoning for Chad Hillis at 12541 Murphy'sboro Highway A1 to C2): Approved, 16 yes; the planning commission gave a unanimous positive recommendation and the 5:30 public hearing had no speakers.
Next steps: County staff will publish the adopted budget and tax levy in official channels and proceed with capital project schedules and procurement for the sheriff's vehicles as described at the meeting.
