By Fred Guarino

The Lowndes Signal

The Lowndes County Commission learned Monday that ad valorem taxes for the county will be down an estimated $100,000 for 2011 largely due to landowners signing up for current use status on their property.

Commission administrator Jackie Thomas reported in 2010 the county received ad valorem taxes of $2,567,966. However, under the new projection for 2011, “We will only get $2,465,000. So, our ad valorem taxes have decreased.”

Lowndes County Chief Tax Appraiser Johnnie H. Watkins was called to appear before the commission to explain the loss of tax revenue.

“What I have found is that in this last year we had more people, about 200 people, actually to come in to sign for current use,” Watkins said.

She said that took a toll on the tax rolls.

“We’ve always had people on the roll, but not as an assertion of how we had this last 2010,” Watkins said.

She explained that if a landowner with 1,200 acres paid $8,900 in 2010, that landowner would only pay about $3,800 under current use.

“So that’s a real bummer there,” she said. “Right now it seems that current use is the big get out on paying a lot of taxes.”

Watkins said the approach on taxes is, “We don’t want to charge you for what you don’t have. We want you to pay for what you do have. And we’re rural and it’s just hard.”

Willie J. McCall and Margie Brutton appeared before the commission to seek help with getting a building for the Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department.

Under the consent agenda commissioners approved the minutes of the last meeting, invoices, an off premises beer license for the BP Station across Highway 21, a $300 appropriation for Life Changing Outreach and a letter for the Hickshill Fire Department stating that the county will provide $6,000 yearly to pay a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan dept to build a building with excess for operation of the fire department for the duration of the loan and the operation of the fire department.

The county funds will come from Commissioner Robert Harris’ discretionary funds. Those are tax funds received by the county for volunteer fire departments and appropriated by the commissioners for the departments in their districts.

Commissioners voted to finance four motor graders for which it was facing a balloon payment on Nov. 1 of $338,000.

It was reported that BancorpSouth could finance the motor graders for four years at a cost of  $7,532 a month. The commission currently pays $9,000 per month. After four years, the county will own the motor graders.

The commission went into executive session to discuss pending litigation.

A public hearing on redistricting will be held at the next commission meeting on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.