Putnam Commission Approves 19.6-Cent Property Tax Increase

The Putnam County Commission approved a new budget Monday with a 19.6-cent property tax increase.

The $2.94 tax rate provides a boost to school safety by funding five school resource officers. District 7 Commissioner AJ Donadio motioned for the increase after commissioners voted against four different proposals, including a 22-cent increase recommended by the Putnam County Budget Committee.

“It really was just a matter of trying to gauge where the commissioners wanted to be,” Donadio said. “The sticking point was people wanted see the safety in the schools and they want good roads. It’s all things that we know that we need to have. Just throwing the extra SRO’s in there made all the difference and that’s where people wanted to be.”

The commission voted 14-9 to approve the increase. County Commission Chairman Ben Rodgers said the motion to fund all five SRO’s swayed him to vote yes.

“For us to move forward as a commission, even though I didn’t want to raise taxes that high, I felt the opportunity to support the schools and SRO’s was important at that moment,” Rodgers said. “I voted my conscious. I don’t know if I will regret it tomorrow, but I know the schools have benefited some and we need some protection for our students. One SRO per school can’t guarantee us that nothing will happen, but at least it helps up front.”

Sheriff Eddie Farris said the commission’s vote allows an SRO to be stationed at every school across the county.

“That’s something we set out to do four years ago and we finally achieved that thanks to the county commission,” Farris said. “School safety has always been at the top of the list for us and it will continue to be that way.”

The budget also includes funding for the sheriff’s office to hire one new road deputy, two corrections officers, and a part-time investigator. $400,000 will come from the county’s capital projects budget to purchase new vehicles for the sheriff’s office.

Six cents of the increase will go to the Putnam County School System. 12.1-cents goes to the county general fund and 1.5-cents to the road department.

For a home valued at $200,000, property taxes will increase by $98 annually, or $8.17 per month.

Commissioners voting no were Jerry Ford, Jordan Iwanyszyn, Theresa Tayes, Jerry Roberson, Cindy Adams, Chris Cassetty, Joe Iwanyszyn, Dale Moss, and Kathy Reel.