Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Part one
Q. It is not fair that my property tax bill has gone up in this bad economy. Can't you do something about it?
A. The operation of the county government did not cause your tax bill to increase; it was the operation of the school. Many people still blame the commissioner, but I have absolutely no input into the school system, their budget, their operation, or their property tax rate (mil). The school board and the superintendent set the school mil rate.
Q. If you did not raise taxes this year, why did the school board have to?
A. Both of us have completely different operations. I tried to deal with this in a previous question a few weeks ago. Union County government and Union County school system both have always operated very efficiently for many years. That is why our combined property tax mil rate has been one of the lowest in the state year after year, always in the 10 lowest and usually second or third lowest property tax rate in the state. Last year we were second out of 159 counties.
However, the state mandates so much of the school system budget including how many teachers they must have and how many kids per classroom, how many days they must teach and many other regulations, whereas the county has more flexibility with our budget because the state does not mandate how we serve our public.
Q. Since inflation is down, hasn't the cost of operation of government also gone down?
A. No. I have also dealt with this issue in my column before, but almost everything we do in government continues to go up, from the cost of tires, the ever increasing cost of gasoline, and more particularly for the county, the cost of tar, gravel and asphalt, the cost of jail meals, and jail medical care. Medical insurance costs have continued to rise and many counties have seen 30% and 40% increases. We have seen more modest increases, but it is always an issue of trying to balance our budgets. In 2010, we spent $167,088 just on meals for the inmates in our jail. That alone is over 1% of our total operation budget for the entire county and it is a cost that continues to increase as the number of inmates in jail increases.
Q. Do budget cuts from the State of Georgia impact the county and school the same?
A. No. The state provides much more revenue to the school system than to counties, so when the state cuts those revenues, it is passed down to the local taxpayers. That is why school systems have to deal with cuts from the state often in the middle of a budget year, and why it has such a negative impact on their local budget .
Q. What do you think about our local elected officials?
A. Again, while I do not have anything to do with the school system or their budget, I do know most of the school board members, and city council members and whether you agree with them or not on every issue, I think all elected officials in our community are trying to do what they think is best for their particular government. That is why you elect us; to provide the best possible service and facilities at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer.