In an unexpected turn of events on Monday, the Fisher County Commissioners voted in a split, 3-1 vote, in favor of a last-minute budget amendment that added another full-time employee to the courthouse roster. The court also approved a tax rate to help fund this year’s $5.4 million budget.
Officials have been battling over the county budget in Fisher County since heated discussions resulted in an abrupt end to the meeting in early July. However, in the weeks and months that followed and a few contempt of court warnings later, tempers subsided and it appeared the court had a budget everyone agreed upon at the end of last month’s meeting.
While it was the adoption of the FY 2022 that was on the agenda, commissioners considered one final amendment. The court approved a personnel change that will convert the part-time employee in the county treasurer's office to a full-time.
The office originally requested a full-time employee, but a compromise was reached when the district judge approved an additional employee to the county auditor’s office. As a result, the court as well as each department agreed to share a single full-time employee.
While commissioners Kevin Stuart and Preston Martin expressed concerns about the growth of the auditor’s office, Commissioner Dexter Elrod said he simply did not understand what he voted on, as he was under the impression he was approving a full-time employee to both offices.
With a majority 3-1 vote—with Commissioner Gordon Pippin being the solitary vote against—the commissioners agreed to the amendment. With a few adjustments to compensate for the employee conversion, the overall budget is largely unchanged from last month’s.
With a final budget officially adopted, the commissioners also agreed to issue a tax levy of 0.731907. This is a slight bump in taxes from last year, with the county estimated to see a .68% increase in tax revenues.