With a decrease of 1.28 mills proposed in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, County Administrator David Fields said in Monday’s Lincoln County Board of Supervisors work session that some Lincoln County home owners could see a slight drop in ad valorem taxes for the upcoming fiscal year.

But Fields said this depends on a number of factors, including whether or not the property is in the Lincoln County School District and whether or not the property’s assessed value has increased — something that has happened for many property owners in the county.

“The biggest thing is the (net) assessed value has increased $7.7 million,” Fields said.

Because of the assessed increase, revenues are expected to increase for the next budget year despite the slight drop in millage. The new budget has projected revenues of $19,071,506 for both the county and Lincoln County School District, up from the $17,666,620 in the current budget.

The budget may change between now and the budget’s public hearing at 9 a.m. on Sept. 15. Expenditures in the current proposed budget are set at $18,959,772. This is down from the current budget’s $19,655,508 in expenditures, but that still leaves a surplus of only $111,734 — something Fields said is a little too close for comfort.

“It’s pretty tight,” he said. “So we’ll have to watch everything.”

Of the expenditures, $8,820,056 is appropriated for the general fund, $3,714,691 for road funds, $844,210 for bridges and $5,580,815 for other funds.

The millage rate for the proposed budget is 54.83 for the county and 47.79 for the school district, with a total millage rate of 102.62 mills.

In other business:

Justice Court Judge Roger Martin approached the board to ask for a raise on behalf of justice court employees.

“The ladies that work at that office do a great job,” he said. “We’re blessed to have them. I’d hate to lose any of them.”

The board said they would take it into consideration, but no action was taken.