Millage increase not enough

With a deficit of $142,000, Lamar County commissioners are advertising an $8 million 2012 budget that will include a one-mill hike in property taxes to cover decreases in the tax digest and an increase in exemptions. Hearings on the proposed tax increase began today.’We’re advertising as if we’re going to raise the millage whether we do or not,’ said commission chairman Jay Matthews.During a July 6 workshop, furloughs, layoffs and unpaid holidays were taken off the table in favor of the county paying only $180 a month toward employee health benefits. Since those benefits are being renegotiated into a cafeteria-style plan of selections of benefits, the amount each worker would pay out of pocket could vary.