The Baldwin City Council began discussions Thursday on the city’s proposed departmental budgets for the 2026 fiscal year, reviewing requests totaling $5,159,285 from department heads. The proposals mark a significant $1,084,384 increase over last year’s general fund budget.
Chief Administrative Officer Emily Woodmaster opened the session with an overview of the major drivers behind the increases. Notably, the Georgia Municipal Association — the city’s health insurance provider — raised its premiums by $3,325 per employee, a 31.7% hike. Woodmaster also noted an 8% increase in liability insurance and pointed out that the fire department budget now includes a $125,000 fire truck payment, previously paid from the public safety fund supported by school zone camera revenue.
Modest to major department increases
Court Clerk Susan Newsom led off departmental presentations, requesting a modest increase of $749 (0.3%) for court operations.
More substantial increases followed, starting with Baldwin Police Chief Chris Jones, who presented a $397,429 (33.3%) increase for the police department. The proposal includes hiring two additional patrol officers and purchasing new vehicles and equipment for the expanded force. The department’s GCIC budget also rose by $18,532 (9.5%), largely due to the reclassification of vacation and holiday pay into a separate budget line.
Fire department funding drew particular attention, with interim Fire Chief Ross Jackson and Woodmaster outlining a $476,144 (44.4%) increase over the previous year. Alongside the fire truck payment, the department is seeking to expand its team with three new firefighters, raising the total number of allocated positions from 11 to 14.
Public Works Director Scott Barnhart requested a $71,905 (17.6%) increase for the Street Department, citing the need for a new vehicle to remain on schedule with the department’s 10-year fleet replacement plan and a storage shed for equipment.
Barnhart also presented a substantial increase in the city parks budget — up 328.6% or $21,357 — which includes funding for an outdoor artificial Christmas tree at the Farmers Market, solar lights in the park, and a railroad observation deck at Mitchell Gailey Park.
Woodmaster was asked if the budget also included a Finance Manager position. She confirmed that it did and was included in the budget for Administration. She was unsure of the salary for the position but estimated it to be in the $80,000 to $90,000 range.
The council and department heads will continue to review and refine the budget proposals in the coming weeks ahead of final adoption later this year.
The story has been updated to include the Finance Manager position in the budget.
