The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors approved its 2015-2016 budget Thursday morning, as well as a proposed ad valorem tax decrease.

County Administrator David Fields said the $22.5 million budget was approved as it was presented to the Board of Supervisors without changes.

The Lincoln County Board of Supervisors is now operating with a projected total budget revenue of $22,508,923 (county and schools). Of that amount 72.6 percent, or $16,342,577, of such revenue is obtained through ad valorem taxes. For next fiscal year, the budget has total projected revenue of $22,226,861 (county and schools). Of that amount 71.6 percent, or $15,905,400, is expected to be financed through an ad valorem tax levy. This tax levy will represent an ad valorem tax millage decrease of 1.58 mills (Lincoln County 0.0 mills and schools 1.58 mills) and the millage rate will be 103.90 mills (Lincoln County 52.64 mills and schools 51.26 mills).

There is a $2.7 million increase in county expenditures for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, most of which reflects the $2.5 million baseball park, the funds for which the county already has. The county also committed $80,000 towards the new building at Linbrook Business Park.

Lincoln County’s budget for the new fiscal year includes no additional funds for departments and no pay raises. The county expects to bring in approximately $295,000, or 1.6 percent, less in total revenues than the current fiscal year.

In creating the county budget, Fields said his recommendation to the Board of Supervisors was to keep the same budget as the last fiscal year, except for the $2.7 million in planned projects.

The county expects to bring in approximately $450,000 less in tax revenue, a 3.77 percent change from the current year. It also expects to bring in $155,000 in additional revenues, so the county is looking at approximately $295,000 total less revenue than the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

The $450,000 change in the tax levy was due to an error in the Tax Assessor/Collector’s Office that overestimated what the county would bring in.

Earlier in August, Fields said the miscalculation resulted in total assessed property values being listed as several million dollars too high. The board set the current millage rate too low based on the incorrect assessed values, resulting in a loss of tax revenue to the county.