NATCHEZ — Adams County District 2 Supervisor Henry Watts questioned at Monday’s budget meeting the correctness of details in a submitted opinion titled “Recreation doesn’t require tax hike” published in the Aug. 16 issue of The Natchez Democrat.

Tate Hobdy, the president of the Natchez-Adams Recreation Commission, authored the Top of the Morning article.

Watts said Hobdy was incorrect in writing that the county “reassigned” mills from $1.1 million in retired debt to fund a road-resurfacing project and that they could do the same with recreation.

Watts said the county did not “assign” mills to the road project.

He said the City of Vidalia assigns allocated millage — which distributes a specific number of mills to a specific project regardless of the dollar value of a mill — for recreation, but Adams County does not.

“I don’t mind if (Hobdy) is putting what he hopes to happen (in the opinion), but putting in what (the county) is actually doing is wrong and false,” Watts said.

After the meeting, Hobdy said he intended to suggest the dollar value of mills — not a specific allocation of mills — be used for recreation once retired debt frees up money in the budget.

“Mills do change,” Hobdy said. “But based on the (revenue of mills) they could be put toward debt service on recreation or road resurfacing or any other project really,” Hobdy said.

Watts also questioned a statement in Hobdy’s Top of the Morning that said, said the commission is “working to structure a bond program.”

Watts wondered if Hobdy was speaking with financial advisors without knowledge of the board to structure a bond program for recreation.

Hobdy said he did not have authority to nor did he ever discuss the county’s finances with the county’s financial advisor Demery Grubbs or the county’s bond attorney.

Hobdy said the recreation board has discussed the county’s debt service with Board President Darryl Grennell and District 1 Supervisors Mike Lazarus and other county officals.

Hobdy said he has also talked with attorney Walter Brown about bonding issues, because Brown is familiar with the process and does pro bono work for the commission.

Hobdy said the suggestions of the recreation commission are recommendations for which an interlocal agreement requires the commission to make, and the boards can do with them what they like.

“At this point all we can do is help move (the issue) forward and overcome objections people have,” Hobdy said.