Two county residents voiced concern about possible tax increases and job losses at a Tuesday public hearing on the $86.8 million proposed 2010 Douglas County budget.

Their comments were followed by those from the five members of the Board of Commissioners (BOC) who expressed their own concerns about the economy and the budget.

The hearing was part of the regular 10 a.m. BOC meeting in Citizens Hall at the county courthouse.

The final budget is due to be voted on at the Dec. 15 regular BOC meeting. Copies of the proposed budget are available at the two county public libraries and on the county’s Web site, www.CelebrateDouglasCounty.com.

Matt Chappell, 9786 Whitetail Road, Douglasville, said he is concerned about possible tax increases and questioned spending for the proposed new library and roads.

Chappell said the state is beginning to see a decrease in the value of commercial real estate on top of the decrease in residential property.

“The city voted to have a new police station and the county voted to build a new jail,” he said. “On top of that, we’ll probably have additional taxes in the county.”

In addition, he noted that the state elimination of homestead funds makes property tax bills higher.

“I don’t know if you’re looking at furloughing employees,” he said. “I say stay with what we have and keep current employees.”

Priscilla McGill, 1420 North Flat Rock Road, Douglasville, noted that her accountant, who has small business clients, has seen a decrease (in business) of over one-half for the last year.

“There’s going to be more unemployment in 2011 and another wave of foreclosures,” McGill said. “I’m talking about what you’ll do in the next three to four years.”

She questioned building a new library in Fairplay when many of the subdivisions in that area are empty or the houses are foreclosed.

“I see a need to cut back even more,” she said.

She suggested the county consider a four-day work week or opening the permit and inspection department only two days per week since construction is down.

“You have a lot of intelligence and experience,” she said. “I’d like to see you do something innovative to put Douglas County on the map instead of just tax and spend.”

Commission Chairman Tom Worthan admitted times have been hard.

“We cut $12 million from the budget last year and we have a shortfall of $3 million this year,” Worthan said.

He defended the decision to build the Fairplay library. He said the state has already pledged $2 million, with a required $1.3 million match by the county. He said the state money will be lost if the library project is abandoned.

“We had two libraries when our county population was 24,000,” Worthan said. “We still have only two libraries and the population is 130,000.”

He said a four-day work week would not be practical for the county since about 75 percent of its employees are public safety workers who have to maintain a seven-day work week.

“If we don’t have the money to build a library, and it’s in my district, then I don’t think we should build it,” said District 4 Commissioner David Latham.

District 2 Commissioner Kelly Robinson said these are tough times when the county has to move forward at a time when the economy is causing things to be tighter.

“How do we get the right combination?” he pondered.

District 3 Commissioner Mike Mulcare agreed, saying that even in bad times the county has to be “forward looking.”

“This has been the most trying budget cycle in my career as a commissioner,” Mulcare said.

District 1 Commissioner Freddie Ashmon Jr. said he’s concerned that anybody who gets laid off will have trouble finding a job. He suggested furloughs of county workers as a possibility. He said the BOC faces some hard decisions.

“Missing one or two days is not unreasonable to ask in these kind of times,” Ashmon said.

“We’re not in this by ourselves,” Worthan said. “We’re in better shape than many cities and counties, but we’re still having to make difficult decisions. We need to make the best decisions to keep Douglas County government stable.”

Other items approved unanimously by the BOC included:

• resolution for tax incentives for the Greenstone project, a business which will add 70 new jobs next year and another 360 contract manufacturing jobs;

• approval of tax credits or refunds due to clerical errors for Owens Flooring Systems, Shell Food Mart and Duron Paints and Wallcoverings;

• annual agreements with several local agencies including Chamber of Commerce, Tourism and History Commission/Old Courthouse, Inc., Sheriff’s Office chaplain, Cultural Arts Council, Julie Banks of Probation Office, SHARE House, Whaley lease, county attorney, Board of Assessors attorney, juvenile prosecutor and juvenile defender;

• execution of 2010 employment contracts for contract employees;

• application for Living Centers Initiative (LCI) transportation funding for the Lee Road extension;

• and renewal of county photocopier maintenance services to Douglasville Office Equipment Company.