BOC to adopt FY2013 budget and tax hike Tuesday night

The planned “work session" of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night will actually include several voting items, including adoption of the FY2013 budget and a 1-mill tax hike. Among the other items slated for action are two budget amendments — $125,270 for prisoner medical and food expenses at the jail and $14,206 for Juvenile Court.

One discussion item likely to be of broad public interest is a proposal for the county government to take over the garbage service that county residents currently purchase on their own and to instead contract that service to a single company. A representative of Waste Pro is scheduled to make a presentation in which he will recommend charging county residents about $18 per month for garbage service, with more than $5 of that going to create a new $1 million revenue stream for the county government.

The public meeting is at 6 p.m. at the administration building at 233 E. Broad St., Winder.