Growth slowed considerably in Carroll County in 2008, but all its cities included in the report released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week experienced a population increase, even if it was in the single digits.

The county as a whole added 1,843 people, or 1.6 percent. That’s down from 3.5 percent growth or an additional 3,815 people in 2007. The largest gainers were Villa Rica with 407 people, 3.8 percent growth; Temple with 118 people, 2.7 percent growth; and Carrollton with 327 people, 1.4 percent growth.

A couple of towns grew at a snail’s pace. Roopville gained a mere three people, according to the bureau’s estimates, while Whitesburg gained five.

Roopville Mayor Bob Merrell likes the small gains.

“It’s sort of a reverse impact compared to these other places that have a lot of growth,” Merrell said. “We don’t have to collect a lot of taxes. We don’t have crime problems. You know, we’d like to keep it like it is.”

The town, with an estimated population of 205, offers street lights, free garbage pick up each week and water at a minimum cost of $3 a month. City Hall is manned a few days a week, but has no phone. To speak to Merrell, a resident has to call him directly.

“We just recently disconnected it because we’re not there enough to answer it,” he said. “We can’t afford to pay somebody just to sit at City Hall.”

Carroll County provides the city with services like fire and police protection and schools. Because of that the city doesn’t charge a property tax and survives on sales tax revenue with a budget of approximately $70,000 a year.

“We just operate a tight ship,” Merrell said. “We don’t need growth. Our folks don’t care a thing about it. It’s the best way to be, I think.”

Other communities in the county would like to see more growth, though.

While the Carrollton City Schools will see some growth this year, for the first time in eight years the county schools are expecting fewer students next school year. In a time when the state is already cutting its funding to the schools, losing students means an even bigger drop in income and more jobs lost.

The lull in growth does give the system some time to catch up with previous growth. Without new growth, the system may be able to finish its construction projects before having to expand again. The schools in some of the fastest growing communities could get rid of some of the mobile classrooms that are lined up on their campuses.

Carroll County would like to see more growth, because growth means construction. The main financial repercussion of slow growth to the county budget has been in the number of construction permits issued, said Carroll County Comptroller Don Johnson.

“We’re not making money through that area for the county to generate revenue,” Johnson said. “So, we’ve had to cut back on our spending on many things.”

The county charges permit fees when residents or companies do construction to help cover the cost of hooking the new facilities into services the county helps fund such as water and roads. The income from those permit fees has come way down in the last couple of years as construction has slumped and next year promises to be even lower. The county estimates its income using the past three years and the condition of the economy as a guide. It had cut its estimate of permit revenue for fiscal year 2009 to half of what it received in fiscal year 2008. However, by the end of May with just 30 days to go in the fiscal year, it hadn’t even reached that estimate.

“Our building permits in the county we had cut in half from the prior year, we had cut (estimates) down to about $345,000 in revenue and at the end of May we had only seen about $136,000,” Johnson said. “So that number has been dropped again for the new year.”

The county still has money from special purpose local option sales taxes to continue with capital projects, such as the completion of the animal control center and expansion of the recreation center, and is looking forward to beginning a new justice center.

“When the county is growing, it’s helpful for the county because we have revenue coming in,” Johnson said.

Or, as the mayor of Roopville sees things, a lack of growth can also mean less money going out.