The Meeting:
Council of Governments, in which elected officials from the local and state levels meet to discuss various issues.
Top Story:
• Lauderdale County Superintendent of Schools Randy Hodges said the school district will pass its FY 2010 budget today. He said the district will not raise taxes this year. "When we learned that we would receive the stimulus money for two years we made the decision we will not increase at all," he said. He added that the district was not able to provide raises for administrative or support staff, and that the district has lost a principal and a coach to higher-paying school districts. Meridian Public School Superintendent Charlie Kent said his district is also working on a budget for FY 2010 and will not be able to give raises.
What Happened:
• State Rep. Greg Snowden (R-Meridian) talked about the FY 2012 budget, especially the education budget. He said stimulus funds saved education from severe cuts for the next two years, but that funding education and other state departments will be more difficult when stimulus funds run out. "A tough time is coming for sure," he said.
• County Supervisor Craig Hitt (District 3) said the board of supervisors is beginning the budgeting process and that he is "very concerned" with how it will turn out. "It's not a very encouraging process," he said. "I think what we do with this budget is critical."
• City Councilman George Thomas (Ward 1) said he expects new Mayor Cheri Barry to recommend some new department heads in the coming weeks, adding that Barry has mentioned putting together a regional meeting of elected officials in the fall. Barry also has named a 12-person committee to help her in selecting who will fill vacant school board posts.
• Snowden reminded COG members that Mississippi will have a sales tax holiday on the last Friday of July, during which any clothing or footwear purchases of under $100 per item will not carry a sales tax charge.
