NATCHEZ — The cost to run Adams County has gone up more than $1 million this year.

And ever since International Paper closed in 2003, the county has had reduced income to cover the bills.

But county officials believe that could all change in 2010.

Adams County Administrator Cathy Walker said each time the county’s budget has increased since the plant closed, the county has had to dip into its cash balance to account for the difference since IP’s $2 million in annual tax payments to the county are no longer coming.

Walker said the continued rising costs of virtually everything the county needs to run and missing revenue hasn’t always been easy for the county.

“You just have to learn to live with less,” Walker said.

And this budget year was no exception.

Several months ago, when the supervisors developed the county budget, they cut travel budgets and other small items in nearly every county department, Walker said.

The $1 million more in expenses includes a 3 to 5 percent pay raise to all county employees.

The county’s juvenile detention center also needed $100,000 in repairs and upgrades, including a new central control panel.

The county’s cost to provide garbage service was increased by $350,000, but approximately $300,000 of that cost was passed on to consumers through a rate increase.

And the cost of fire protection for county residents went up $30,000.

Additionally, Walker said most of the county’s 25 departments saw an increase in gas, utilities and general operational costs.

“The costs just keep going up,” she said.

When this budget year comes to a close, the county expects to have approximately $3.2 million in its cash balance, that’s down from the start of the year when it had approximately $4.5 million.

Walker said the cash balance is not a savings account and is essentially money that went unused from the previous year’s budget. It can include special allocations to the county, like grants, Walker said.

“But we can’t keep doing that,” Walker said. “We have to have some change. Eventually we would run out of money.”

Supervisor Darryl Grennell said he believes 2010 will be a “turnaround year” for the county.

“Hopefully we’ll start to see some positive changes in the upcoming budget year,” Grennell said.

Chief among those changes is the opening of the Corrections Corporation of America prison facility.

By 2010 the prison will be paying taxes to the county to the tune of more than $1 million per year.

And Grennell said it’s that type of new money coming into the county budget that will start to make up for the loss IP created.

Grennell said while it was necessary for the county to use its cash reserves, it’s not always beneficial.

Like an individual’s credit score, the county has a bond rating that essentially impacts how much the county pays to borrow money.

And that bond rating, in part, is determined by the county’s cash balance.

While other factors can influence the bond rating, generally, a higher cash balance results in the county being able to borrow money for less.

Adams County Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne said new money coming into the county’s budget in 2010 won’t hurt the county’s bond rating.

Since the last bond rating was done before IP closed, it’s difficult to know how the county would be rated should the bond rating be re-evaluated now, Grennell said.

Grennell said the county is currently rated at BAA2, which is a favorable rating.

And Supervisor Mike Lazarus said it’s more than just CCA that’s going to be helping the county’s bottom line.

Lazarus noted that money from Rentech’s taxes and money from Denbury’s oil sequestration facility will all help the county.

O’Beirne said some projections, depending on Denbury’s output, indicate the company will pay the county up to $175,000 in severance taxes next year.

Adams County Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins said it’s still not known exactly how much Rentech will contribute to the county’s tax rolls since the land they purchased is still being surveyed.

Regardless, Lazarus is still looking for the coming year to be beneficial for the county.

“This really can be a turnaround year for us,” he said. “Things are looking good.”

Mulitple calls to Supervisor Henry Watts went unanswered.