Murphy – The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners passed the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Ordinance on June 29 with a total general fund of $54,066,469 – an all-time high for Cherokee County.
The county’s new millage rate is set at 61 cents per $100 of value following the commissioners’ vote to reach a $48.5 million settlement that resolves more than 20 lawsuits against the county stemming from past practices by the Department of Social Services. The county will be responsible for half of that figure – $24.25 million – including a $4 million payment due by Feb. 15, 2023.
Commissioners in recent weeks worked to lower a looming millage rate increase to three cents ahead of the approval of the ordinance. The lawsuit settlement added an additional 8 cents onto that number for a total rate increase of 11 cents.
“Knowing that somewhere in that area of where we landed was probably where this settlement was going to be, trying to keep it within a 10-to-12 cent increase was my thought process,” Commissioner Cal Stiles said.
“I would have liked to have seen it less, but that’s what it is.”
As is typical of a county budget, the bulk of the budget is devoted to areas such as total health and human services ($16,481,610) – including the initial $4 million settlement payment – and total public safety ($15,075,232).
Commissioners began their budget work sessions with a recommended budget of $53,235,945. The recommended budget featured a property tax millage rate of 60 cents on its own, up 20 percent – 10 cents total – over the previous rate. Stiles said he aimed to trim the budget with the knowledge that the lawsuit settlement ultimately would push the rate increase back up to 10 cents or more.
“When we had a proposed 10-cent increase, we knew that just wasn’t going to be manageable for the citizens,” he said. “We had to sit down and work through our budget. I think that’s probably as low as we could have gotten the budget without making some dramatic cuts.”