The county commission is set to meet on July 27 at the courthouse to vote on the proposed 2015-16 budget plan.
A public hearing on the proposed budget and tax increase will precede the regular monthly meeting of the commission. The public hearing will begin at 5:30 p.m., while the regular meeting will take place at 6 p.m.
The proposed budget plan totals $40,936,094, and includes a 16-cent property tax increase, which some commissioners feel is necessary to keep the county from borrowing money to operate before the fiscal year ends. The current rate of $1.62 per $100 of assessed value would increase to $1.78 if the plan is adopted.
The proposed spending plan would be dispersed as follows:
•County General Fund: 94 cents (twelve-cent increase over last year).
•County Highway Department: 4 cents (one-cent increase).
•General Capital Projects: 11 cents (one-cent increase).
•Debt Service: 12 cents.
•General Purpose Schools: 57 cents (two-cent increase).
Proposed Capital Projects fund expenditures for the year total $373,670, and include:
•Ambulance- $95,000.
•Other Equipment $12,500.
•Patrol Cars-$82,500.
•Fire department (repairs to fire trucks) $33,670.
•Striping $15,000.
•Omega Apparel building $40,000.
•Building Construction (seed money for proposed Four Seasons Fire Station) $25,000.
•Skid Steer/Backhoe (for the landfill) $70,000.
A resolution to set aside $146,681 for the following non-profit organizations will be considered:
•DeKalb Soil Conservation District-$33,166.
•Senior Citizens Program-$25,839.
•DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce-$17,500.
•DeKalb County Rescue Squad-$16,821.
•Prospect Incorporated-$12,500.
•UCHRA Assessment-Homemaker Aide, etc-$9,245.
•Imagination Library-$7,200.
•Plateau Mental Health-$7,180.
•WCTE-TV-$5,000.
•Veterans Honor Guard-$2,000.
•Upper Cumberland Development District-$2,000.
•Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center-$1,780.
•Genesis House-$1,500.
•Tennessee Division of Forestry-$1,500.
•DeKalb County Fair-$1,500.
•Upper Cumberland Human Resources-$1,200.
•Families First-$750.
One cent of the tax rate is estimated to generate $44,328 in local money, with a seven-percent delinquency rate figured into the equation.