Town of Jennings budget proposal passes first hearing

By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News The Town of Jennings held their first budget meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10, and the council voted unanimously 4-0 to move forward with the proposed budget with a few amendments. Councilor Lamar Bennett was not present for the meeting.  Tax break for residents The proposed budget the council discussed includes decreasing the town’s ad valorem taxes to a rollback rate of 4.7139, down from the prior year’s millage rate of 4.9500. In 2019, the town collected $58,162 in ad valorem taxes and adopted a budget amount of $61,731 for 2020. The budget proposed for 2021 will reduce the amount to $59,133.  Pay raises for employees The budge