The Habersham County Commission is meeting with department heads this week to begin the process of budgeting for the 2016 fiscal year. The process, hours in a windowless room at the old courthouse in Clarkesville, is just as yawn-inducing as it sounds but it is important to all of us as tens of millions of our tax dollars are on the table.
County Commission Chairman Andrea Harper says all the money talk this week is very preliminary because the financial picture will likely change, “A lot of the numbers are very fluid because, for example, we don’t know what (the increase in) our insurance is going to be.” There are also no firm numbers yet on just how much the county can expect in revenue.
While most of the talk from county departments this week is centered on holding the line on spending, Sheriff Joey Terrell told commissioners that we need to increase pay for officers. “We asked for a 5% pay raise across the board for all of our personnel just to try to bring salaries in line with surrounding counties our size.” Terrell says Habersham County tax payers spend to train good officers and then lose them to nearby communities who pay a higher hourly rate. “We’re still struggling to keep good people.”
He also asked for a budget increase to hire three more patrol officers. The department is currently shorthanded with two officers on the disabled list, one due to a back injury and the other after being shot while on duty. Add to that the regular staffing absences (training, vacations, sick days) and Sheriff Terrell says the situation is less than ideal when it comes to policing the county. “We should have six officers on each patrol, we can only schedule four right now and to cover those four slots we have to use overtime which is a higher expense to taxpayers.”
He says a prime example of the shortage came on Wednesday afternoon after a shooting on Key Road in Mt. Airy. “It took every shift officer out here to help with this situation because tensions always run high and it took all the officers we had to help keep everyone calm” Terrell explains. “During all this, we were struggling to answer calls elsewhere.”
Due to the preliminary nature of the budget discussions and the uncertainty surrounding insurance and other employee costs, it is hard to say just how much the requested increase in pay and personnel would actually cost taxpayers. The Sheriff says he understands that there may not be money for what he believes the county needs right now. “I know times are tight, I am a taxpayer and not looking for higher taxes, but I have to step up and ask for what my people need.”
Throughout all the budget presentations on Wednesday, Chairman Harper looked skeptical that there would be money for any significant increase in any department. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a poker face,” she admits, “and at this age I’m never going to get one if I don’t have it by now. I just can’t justify (spending) on some of the things because if we do something for one department then we have to do it for other departments.”
Budget discussions continue today with county courts and the Industrial Authority on the agenda.
Habersham County Commission Budget Meetings –
Thursday, March 26, 2015
8:30 AM Superior Court & Law Library
9:00 AM State Court
9:30 AM Probate Court
10:00 AM Clerk of Superior Court
10:30 AM Solicitor
11:00 AM Coroner
11:30 AM Magistrate Court
12:00 PM Industrial Authority
All budget review meetings will be held at the Administration Building, 555 Monroe Street (old Courthouse) in the Board of Commissioners conference room (old deed room).
