By DOTTY NIST
Walton County’s final budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year was approved in a very brief public hearing on Sept. 22.
This, the second of two budget hearings held by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC), took place at the Walton County Courthouse. Aside from county commissioners, attendees consisted of BCC and constitutional officers’ staff and two members of the media.
The commissioners unanimously approved two resolutions presented by Walton County Finance Manager Melissa Thomason. The first was to set the millage rate and the second was to set the budget amount.
The millage rate approved for county government operations was 3.6363 mills, with a millage rate of 0.4912 mills approved for operations of the North Walton Mosquito Control District. The former represented a 8.55-percent increase over the rolled-back rate, which would have resulted in essentially the same amount of ad valorem taxes being collected as in the current year. There was no change in the millage rate approved for the North Walton Mosquito Control District for the new fiscal year.
A budget amount of $123,936,505 was approved, including a $622,444 budget for North Walton Mosquito Control.
By previous direction of the commissioners, funds from the .08-mill increase over the 3.5563-mill current year countywide millage rate are to be placed directly into a capital projects infrastructure account to pay for infrastructure projects, including road and stormwater improvements.
