"Commissioner's Cut"
BY MENDY BUTLER, COUNTY CLERK

On Tuesday, September 4, the Board of Commissioner held their regular session meeting. At this meeting it was decided to set up a drop-off point for old cell phones at the Annex. These phones will be sent to "Secure the Call" Foundation. The phones are used for several reasons, one of which is they are given to women in battered women shelters for emergency phones. This is tax deductible contribution, and I will give you the info to go online.

We have held several public hearings, our last being September 6. The Board also set the millage in a special session held after the hearing. The millage is now 20.384. One mill is equal to $153,182.15.

Please remember our fire chief and EMS director, Craig Tully. Say a prayer for his family during this time of sorrow. We send our deepest sympathy.

The BOE informed the Commissioners that they had taken out the funding for the Public Library from their budget. Their total budget has not changed, only the way it is figured to get to the total amount. Because the County and City have already adopted their budgets, this means that something like this cannot be added now due to the state deadlines. So, the City, County, library, and BOE boards were to meet altogether to come to resolve this on Friday. All boards but one had a great turnout. The only way all members present at the meeting felt to fix this was for the Library to be put on the 2007 tax bill (and years following). To do this the BOC adopted a resolution rendering a "special district." This will allow that to happen, and for there to be no delay in sending all this information to the state. After the meeting was over, the Library Board thanked the county commissioners for doing this on such short notice to allow the library to function. Public hearings for the library will be held, and the dates are published in this edition. The board of commissioners has issued a press release to be published in this issue concerning the library's budget and proposed tax millage rate.