Nath Morris said he can't remember a time in his tenure on the Hall County School Board when no one showed up at a public hearing to discuss a budget. But that's exactly what happened this year.
During Monday night's third and final public hearing for the FY 2017 budget, Morris and his fellow board members reflected on the budget process, all agreeing that transparency in the process led to trust among citizens.
"And I really haven't heard much out in the community either," Morris said. "I think it goes back to - I hope it goes back to - the fact that we're putting the budget on the web page and we offer the opportunity for questions."
This year, the Board opted to hold the millage rate at 18.8 mills, even as Hall County voted to roll back the county millage rate to 18.599 mills. Even though the school millage rate was the same as a year ago, the numbers will mean a tax increase for some property owners.
Morris said he had been questioned by a couple of people about the increase, but he said once he explained the growth in the school system, they understood why the Board was holding the millage rate at last year's level.
"I've also compared this with a business when you see growth. If we've got 300 [additional] students coming in, that means we've got more teachers, we need more space, more power, electricity. When you're running a business and you have an increase in your number of customers, what happens? Your expenditures go up," Morris said.
The nearly $227 million budget includes pay increases for school employees and additional teachers. Currently, the school system has 12 teaching vacancies. The Board has also noted during budget hearings that they will need to use at least $4 million from reserve funds to finance the budget in FY '17.
School Board members Bill Thompson and Sam Chapman both agreed that transparency had played a big role in this year's budget process.
"I don't think it's apathy on the peoples' part for not showing up [at public hearings]; I thinks it's a matter of trust," said Thompson. "Anybody that wants to can see our budget at any time online."
"We've been transparent all along," said Chapman.
