Lauderdale County supervisors passed a $58.7 million budget for fiscal year 2020 Tuesday.

It includes the Lauderdale County School District’s requested tax increase of 1.19 mills, according to Cheryl Polk, the county’s financial analyst.

Last month, George Hedgepeth, the school district’s director of finance, said the district had additional expenses from Public Employees’ Retirement System contributions and health insurance, and the tax increase would cover approximately $700,000.

There were no speakers during a public hearing scheduled before the board’s vote. 

According to county leaders, the budget includes: 

• More than $147,000 in raises for elected officials, permitted under Senate Bill 2827, including the coroner, circuit and chancery clerks, tax collector and assessor, constables and supervisors.

• New road paving equipment.

• An additional fire truck.

• Nine new vehicles for the sheriff’s department.

• $25,000 for an industrial scanner for the planned move to a new courthouse.

• An additional $45,000 in equipment used in electronic monitoring of youth court defendants .

Tax revenues accounted for 59% of the county budget, according to a presentation by Polk. 

There are no cost-of-living adjustments for county employees included in the budget, she said.

The budget for fiscal year 2019 was $56.6 million.