Lafayette County $30M Budget Approved

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors approved the 2019 fiscal year budget Tuesday that included a small raise for all employees and no raise in taxes.

The $30,746,444 budget includes $9,602,148 for Lafayette County schools, which is raised through a separate 69.37 millage rate, which will not go up this coming fiscal year.

The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

There were no comments made from the board or the public before the supervisors voted unanimously to approve the budget Wednesday morning.

The county’s millage rate, 36.98, is also not going up this year.

The budget also includes a $100 a month raise for all full-time employees and a .50 an hour raise for part-time employees

Most of the county’s revenue, 49.85 percent, comes from ad valorem taxes. About 32 percent comes from fines, license and other revenues, about 9 percent comes from charges for services like solid waste, about 8 percent comes from the state and .85 percent comes from federal grants.

Public safety takes up a majority of expenses with 23 percent devoted to protecting the county, while 13 percent is for county government services, 24 percent is used for capital projects and 4 percent is used for the courts. Debt service takes up t4 percent and 4 percent goes to health, welfare and economic development.