Habersham County Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims presented the FY 2025 budget to the County Commissioners during its Monday, June 17, regular meeting. Immediately following the presentation, the floor was open for public comments.
Sims presented a balanced budget to the commission. During the budget process, he explained that management had made several cuts to the budget. Many of those cuts were set aside for the commission to decide if those items should be placed back into the budget.
The total budget for FY 2025 as presented is $84,862,928, an increase of 15.8% or $11,546,723 over the FY 2024 budget. The general fund budget for the county makes up 46.2% of the total budget or $39,171,485.
Budget challenges
Sims outlined some of the challenges in the general fund budget. He stated that inflation was still higher than it was four years ago, raising the cost of goods and services the county purchases. Sims gave some examples of those cost increases. He tells the commission that in 2021 the Rec Department could purchase a football jersey for $36.42. Today, that same jersey costs the county $50.25, an increase of 38%. Another example he gave was for road paving in the county. In 2021, it cost the county $114,435 to resurface one mile of roadway. Last year, the same project cost the county $210,000 per mile. He warned that the county has not received what it would cost to pave roads this year.
Other than inflation, Sims told the commission that property and casualty insurance increased by 24%. The second phase of the Tax Assessment contract would be due in this budget year costing the county $383,000. The county’s phone system was at its end of life and needed to be replaced. Another increase was for the IT Department. The department has seen over the last year maintenance services and licensing costs increase that will affect the budget for the coming year.
Also in the budget was a 4% merit increase for employees. That cost for FY 2025 will be approximately $653,000.
Sims told the commission that there was a capital improvements component of $1.6 million built into the budget. No new positions are in the current budget but the commission will look at what has been requested over the next week and make a decision on whether to fill those positions or not. They will also have the same opportunity with capital improvements.
Rollback
He told the commission that as the budget stands, it would allow for a full rollback on the millage rate. However, that is based on preliminary numbers from the tax digest. Sims informed the commission that it will be a few more days before the final tax digest numbers will be released. The current proposed millage rate rollback would be .911 mills, reducing the current millage rate from 12.682 to 11.771 mills.
Sims did tell the commission that depending on what they agreed to add to the capital improvements component or new positions, it could reduce the full rollback to a partial rollback.
Public hearing
Only one citizen spoke in opposition of the budget during the scheduled public hearing. Paula Hanington addressed the commission with her concerns about the budget, starting with inflation. “The people here have had to deal with inflation by cutting expenses,” she tells the commission. She adds, “Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the same route that’s being taken by this proposed budget.”
Hanington reminded the commission, “You all write the checks that we have to cover.”
“As a taxpayer, it’s harder for me to think about how my taxes are going to increase when my spending ability is consistently going down,” she said.
Hanington pointed out to the commission that there were certain functions of the government that were required. However, it appears that the county is providing more and more services that are in direct competition with private businesses. She gave the gymnastics program as one example.
She concluded her opposition by saying, “We cannot afford to tax ourselves out of existence.”
The Habersham County Commission will have a special called meeting on Monday, June 24, at 6:00 p.m. for its second public hearing for the FY 2025 budget. The meeting will be held in the Jury Assembly Room in the Habersham County Courthouse at 295 Llewellyn Street in Clarkesville.
SEE ALSO
HABCO Commission receives budget, holds first public hearing
