County Commissioners reduce proposed millage rate increase

On June 22, during a called meeting of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners, commissioners discussed options for the Fiscal Year 2024 county budget, looking for ways to reduce the 1.78 millage rate increase they announced last week they would be instituting for next year. 

Commissioner Chris Rickman met with WNEG News after the meeting to summarize the discussion and explain the results of the meeting. 

He said that after examining the budget presented last week, they were able to trim a few more expenses from the proposed budget.

Rickman explained that there were several grants, such as the recently-announced $1.2 million dollar grant to the sheriff’s department, that may reduce budgetary requirements in various departments, but said that there was also much that was still unknown about the specifics of those grants. 

Rickman stressed that there would be plenty of opportunities, still, for citizens to provide input on the proposed budget.

WNEG News will provide further coverage of Thursday’s called meeting of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners early next week.