DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners held the first of three public hearings on the proposed 2017 budget of $20.6 million Tuesday. Commissioners have tentatively adopted a millage rate of 12.180. The proposed increase for a home with a fair market value of $175,000 is approximately $103.84.

If the new budget is adopted without change, it would require a tax increase over the rollback rate by 14.33 percent in the unincorporated part of the county and 13.22 percent in the incorporated area.

The county is required by law to hold three public hearings on the new budget. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. The final hearing will be held Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m.

The proposed budget reveals revenues and expenditures of $20,618,915, an increase of nearly $2 million over the 2016 budget of $18,818,813.

Most of the expense of operating county government will be generated by property taxes, anticipated at $16,148,608, compared to $15,072,705 last year.

The largest budgeted expenditure is in the Sheriff’s Office which is expected to cost $4,657,697 to operate in 2017. That is an increase of just under $500,000 since last year, as the county struggles to stem the migration of deputies to the larger neighboring counties where the pay is better.

Commissioners believe it is more cost effective to pay good law enforcement officers a competitive wage than spend thousands of dollars to train them only to lose them to Hall or Forsyth counties.

The second highest expenditure in 2017 will be in Emergency Services where the cost will be $3,786,504 compared to $3,167,830 last year.

Lynn Youngblood spoke in opposition to a tax increase.

“We can’t just tax people to death, she said. “When are we going to get on board and start proposing some infrastructure at the end of Ga. 400 and get some water in there and bring in more businesses? What can we do to get some commercial revenue in here to take the burden off the taxpayers? We need jobs for people. We can’t be held back by the city and their stupid billboard restrictions. We can’t continue to exist like this.”

Chairman Chris Dockery explained the Board’s has been actively pursuing businesses.

“When Home Depot moved to Lumpkin County, they wanted water and sewer. There is sewer at the end of Ga. 400. There is water all the way to Blackburn School and there has been natural gas there for years. But, in order to attract more businesses, we as taxpayers have to invest money to attract them here. I can tell you as a former member of the Development Authority that when people look for a place to locate their businesses they don’t want to see trees and rolling hills. They want to see a flat spot where they can put up a building and that takes money. So when we talk about ‘don’t raise my taxes and at the same time bring in businesses,’ how do we do that if you don’t make that investment? That’s the tough part. How do you invest in things that will reduce the cost to tax payers?”