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Tax
collections hit new ceiling
By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer
Marshall County’s tax collections
for January were up again this year by several million, according to
tax collector Betty Byrd, who made a report to the Marshall County Board
of Supervisors.
January is the largest collection month
of the year, coming right before the February 1 real and property tax
deadline when a one percent per month penalty kicks in.
The tax office reported a collection
in January 2007 of about $8.8 million, as opposed to $6.6 million in
January last year, Byrd said. That amounted to 11,735 money transactions
this year compared to 10,285 last year.
A daily breakdown for this January showed
an average of $423,000 a day was taken in or 560 money transactions
a day, Byrd said. The Byhalia Substation, which is open two days weekly,
took care of 1,000 transactions in January.
Of the $8.8 million collected in January,
about $5 million goes to the county funds with the remainder going to
municipal, school district and state funds.
Last year, about $21 million went through
the tax collector’s office.
Wednesday, Jan. 31, was a peak day for
collections with long lines forming at both offices where people waited
to pay their taxes without a penalty. Over 200 transactions were handled
at the Byhalia office Wednesday, Byrd said.
In other county business, the board of
supervisors:
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heard an update on the process for legislative bills for a crisis
intervention center from Gary Anderson. The county is seeking approval
for legislation in the Mississippi House Ways and Means Committee
and the Senate finance committee with deadlines for revenue (bond)
bills set for February 21 in both houses, he said.
- approved appointments. Bill Dawson of Byhalia was appointed to
the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority Board. Dawson
replaces Frank Davis, who is stepping down.
The board also appointed Judy Hurdle to replace Irene Tice on
the Marshall County Library’s board of directors.
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received about 1,000 homestead applications from tax assessor
Ronnie Johnson. He also advised the board on numerous bills in the
House and Senate regarding tax assessment and homestead exemption
in particular, which if passed will negatively impact the county
coffer. The board voted to send a resolution to the legislature
asking lawmakers to reverse a tax break given to owners of low-income
housing complexes last year. Johnson said the county lost a lot
of tax dollars last year by the tax breaks legislators passed on
to owners of low-income housing developments.
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adopted an outdoor sign permit ordinance applicable to industrial
and commercial zones which will require permitting by special exception
and approval of the board of supervisors.
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read the claims docket report for January prepared by Chuck Thomas,
chancery clerk. Claims were received for $258,972 against the general
fund and for a report total of $487,658 for all funds.
- heard a report from the county administrator. Road clearing is
expected to be finished next week on Cooper and Mason roads, according
to Larry Hall.
The county’s application for home program funds is being
submitted again this year, he said. Funding last year was not approved
because of a short deadline to complete audits by a private firm,
he said.
- received a report from county engineer Larry Britt.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation has set aside some
money in the state aid program for a High Risk Rural Roads program,
he said. Supervisors were advised to select a road in their district
already within the state aid program designation and submit accident
and fatality data to substantiate a high risk designation.
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motioned to continue seeking funding for a safety study that would
support a bid for block grant funds to build a railroad overpass
at Byhalia and Potts Camp.
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discussed a county web page.
Report
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