Lincoln County supervisors Friday approved a $10.2 million newyear spending plan that represents a small percentage increase overthe current year’s budget.

The $10.24 million in planned expenditures is a $237,945increase over 2001’s $10 million budget. The 2002 budget yearstarts Oct. 1.

“A total 2.38 percent increase is probably the best budget we’veever put together while trying to hold costs down,” saidComptroller David Fields. “There’s no way we can’t have someincrease with inflation.”

County officials earlier said the increases were due to healthinsurance and payroll costs. Otherwise, budget areas wererelatively unchanged.

“Everything pretty much held to a 1 to 4 percent change,” Fieldssaid. “No budget jumped any significant amount.”

While expenditures are expected to be up 2.38 percent, therevenue needed to fund those purchases is going up by a higherpercentage.

Supervisors have projected that $6.11 million will be neededfrom property taxes, which represents a 5.43 percent increase, or$314.935, more than this year. The budget expects $4.12 millionfrom other revenue sources.

While revenue from property taxes will be up, supervisors arelowering the tax levy for county operations by 7.85 percent. Due toan overall higher valuation of county property, the millage rate isgoing down from 39.40 to 36.31 mills.

Fields also complimented county school district officials ontheir budget efforts.

“The school district did a good job with theirs,” Fieldssaid.

Property tax revenue to fund the local share of county schooloperations is forecast to drop $24,389 from $2.53 million this yearto $2.50 million in the new year. The lower revenue total willallow the tax levy to fall 5.50 mills, or 11.49 percent, from 47.88to 42.38 mills.

One property tax levy mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 ofassessed property value.

What effect the lower millage rates will have on individualproperty owners’ tax bills will depend on the increase or decreasein their property values following a state-mandated reappraisal andwhere they live.

All county residents pay county property taxes while cityresidents also pay city property taxes. Depending on the districtin which they live, residents also pay a property tax to supporteither the county or city school district.

Lincoln County School District residents will see an overall8.59 mill, or 9.85 percent, decrease in the property tax levy.Total county and school district revenue from property taxes isforecast to be $8.6 million, a 3.49 percent increase over thisyear’s $8.3 million.

District 4 Supervisor W.D. “Doug” Moak applauded county effortsto keep costs down, lower the millage rate as much as possible andoffset a $150,000 deficit from the current year.

“I think that makes it a good budget,” Moak said.

In other business Friday, Sheriff Lynn Boyte informedsupervisors that a work agreement between his department and theMississippi Department of Corrections is moving forward. Theagreement will allow the sheriff to house up to 15 non-violentClass A state inmates who can help in supervisors’ districts or doother work for the county.

“We are in line to start getting some of our state inmatesback,” Boyte said. “All that ought to be falling together.”

There’s also been progress on housing federal inmates in thecounty jail, but Boyte said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks hadcreated some uncertainty surrounding U.S. marshals and their inmatetransportation duties. National leaders have discussed placing moremarshals on commercial airlines to combat possible terroristactivity.

County officials have said federal and state reimbursement forhousing inmates could go toward offsetting the costs of new jailconstruction or toward addressing some jail staffing concerns.