DALTON, Ga. — Whitfield County taxes and spends too much, several county residents told the members of the Board of Commissioners on Monday.

Commissioners held the first of two public hearings on a proposed $45.4 million 2017 budget. The budget calls for some $3.8 million more in spending than the 2016 budget. County Finance Director Alicia Vaughn explained that a handful of items are driving the spending increase.

The largest item is $1 million in state road funding and local matching funds that will be carried over from 2016. The budget also calls for the county to put $839,000 into its pension fund. The pension fund has been funded at over 100 percent, so the county did not put any money into it last year or in three of the last five years. But the county will have to put money in next year to keep it at 100 percent funded.

The county will also put $428,900 in general funds into the 911 Center. Vaughn says the fees assessed on cellphones and landlines are no longer enough to cover the 911 Center’s budget.

The budget also calls for a 3 percent pay increase for most county employees and an additional 2 percent pay increase for sheriff’s deputies.

“I don’t understand those pay increases,” said Dalton resident and businessman Phil Neff. “I wish I could give my employees pay increases like that.”

Data provided by the county shows that county employees have had two pay increases in the last eight years.

Referring to a 2.5-mill tax increase approved by the commissioners earlier this year, Neff noted that the county taxes on his house, not including school taxes, are for the first time in 44 years higher than his city taxes.

Former Dalton mayor David Pennington said that tax increase gives Whitfield County the highest taxes in north Georgia.

“We are sowing the seeds for a catastrophe over the next four or five years,” he said.

Several speakers urged the commissioners to look at consolidating services with the city of Dalton or completely consolidating the two governments in order to save money.

Commissioner Roger Crossen, a former director of the county recreation department, said that “could be an opportunity” to combine the two recreation departments.

“That could possibly save us some money,” he said. “We could take a look at that.”

Commissioners will hold a second public hearing on Monday at 6 p.m. in Administrative Building 2 during their regular monthly meeting. They are scheduled to vote on the 2017 budget at the meeting. But Board Chairman Mike Babb said that vote may be delayed until later in the month.

“We need three votes to approve the budget, and I’m not sure I have three votes for this budget,” he said. “I’ve got some commissioners with some questions regarding the employee (pay) increases. They don’t question whether the employees deserve it. But there are questions about whether it should be given, when it should be given.”