Baldwin held a budget town hall meeting Tuesday evening to present its projected budget for FY 2025. The meeting was held downtown under a tent in the Farmers Market where only two citizens attended.
The overall total FY 2025 budget expense, which includes the general fund and the enterprise fund, will be $9,728,397, an increase of 17.77% or $1,398,103.
The projected general fund will be $4,510,525 for FY 2025, an increase of 25.29% or $906,668 compared to FY 2024. Part of the increase is due to the addition of the city’s rank and file personnel. Department heads have proposed the addition of three full time firefighter positions, two full time police officers, two part time GCIC operators, and a part time Court Clerk assistant. The total cost with salaries and benefits for those positions is $387,279.
This was the first look at the FY 2025 budget by the City Council.
Chief Administrative Officer Emily Woodmaster presented the general fund budget to the council and explained the increases to the council and the citizens that attended.
One topic of concern was the animal control expense. Baldwin citizen Cindy Lifsey questioned the expense and why there were not more opportunities for citizens of the city and Habersham County to receive free or reduced pricing for spay and neuter services to reduce the future pet population.
Council member Maarten Venter expressed his concern for adding an additional service. He said that once you start providing one service, then it leads to another service because the government is trying to take care of everybody instead of letting people make their own decisions. “Once you start stepping in like that, before you know it, we’ve got Northeast or California type property taxes.”
He was not opposed to assisting in the animal control issue but suggested that there needed to be a partnership between government and the private sector to address the issue.
The Municipal Court saw an increase in adding a part time assistant. Also, the state passed a law last year that requires municipal courts to have a certified interpreter. The mandate went into effect in January. However, since the mandate is new, the city is unaware how that will impact the budget. Court security was another concern that the city was preparing for that added expenses to that department.
The Police Department is requesting the addition of two police officers and the equipment to outfit those officers. According to Chief Jones, Baldwin has seen an increase in domestic disputes that make responding to those calls more and more unsafe for a single officer to respond. Currently, the department requests mutual aid from the county and surrounding cities. However, those officers can’t always respond.
The Fire Department is requesting the addition of three firefighters to their ranks. Also, the city will have to add additional expenses to the fire department budget by having a Medical Director on staff. The fire department was informed by the county that either they have to decrease their level of service or retain a Medical Director and have the firefighters become EMT-Responder certified. According to Woodmaster, the fire department budget has the director cost and certification training built in.
The Street Department had an increase but the majority of that increase comes from the purchase of a new vehicle.
The city will see an increase in garbage collections over the coming year. The contractor the city uses has increased their cost by 9.8% or nearly $20,000 for FY 2025. Former Habersham County Commissioner and Baldwin citizen Andrea Harper expressed her satisfaction with the contractor. “They are not good, I’m sorry. I’m not happy with them.” she said. Woodmaster explained that over the next year, the city would be seeking to find another contractor to provide the service.
The town hall meeting was cut short due to rain. What was not discussed in the meeting was a $307,475 operational deficit for the general fund. The council will be discussing the budget over the next month.
