The new fiscal year has started, but Habersham County’s budget is still pending.
Disagreements over pay raises and spending caused commissioners to put the new budget on hold at the end of June. The county is now operating under a continuing resolution that keeps its doors open but prevents department heads from hiring new employees and purchasing new equipment.
Exactly what does the proposed budget include? A millage rate rollback, for one thing.
Budget increase-grants
The total base budget for FY 2025 is $84,862,928, prior to any additions from the commission.
According to Habersham’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims, the $11,314,284 increase in this year’s proposed budget is due to grants and other funding sources the county has or will receive in FY 2025. He says the vast majority of the increase will not be paid from property tax dollars.
The base budget includes a full millage rate rollback of .911 mills, reducing the current millage rate from 12.682 to 11.771.
The county will spend $4,717,496 during 2025 from grants received from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation for improvements at the Habersham County Airport in Baldwin.
The county received a $2,000,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan to expand internet service to underserved rural areas. It also received $1,080,056 in additional funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation for road improvements through the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant.
SPLOST funding will also be spent on projects next year.
According to Sims, $1,093,573 will be spent on ongoing projects. The county anticipates moving forward with the construction of the new animal shelter during the 2025 budget year.
The county will spend $323,343 from the Landfill Fund on projects at the landfill and just over $100,000 for added expenses in the Special Revenue Funds.
The General Fund budget increased by $1,985,820. Property taxes will make up a portion of that increase, as will increases in fines, charges for services, and intergovernmental revenues.
The property tax increase being considered is from 3.3% of “real growth” in the tax digest. Real growth is defined as new construction and new parcels that were added to the county tax digest during 2023.
Commission additions
After the first public budget hearing in June, county commissioners received three spreadsheets from Sims. Those spreadsheets contained items the commissioners were to consider adding back into the budget.
Before the second public hearing, each commissioner submitted their forms. Sims tallied the forms and added those items that received approval from three or more commissioners back into the budget.
At least three commissioners chose to add 12 full-time and two part-time positions for $755,259. The full-time positions include six firefighters, two facilities maintenance technicians, one parks maintenance technician, one IT audio/visual technician, one IT network administrator, and one public information officer.
The part-time positions are for two animal care technicians at the animal shelter.
According to Sims, even with the added positions, the budget would allow for a partial millage rate rollback of .518 mills, reducing the current millage rate from 12.682 to 12.164 mills.
Commissioners hit a stalemate over the budget at the June 24 hearing. Commissioner Bruce Harkness questioned some of the spending and said he would vote no on the proposed measure. Commissioner Bruce Palmer held out for higher employee pay raises.
On June 26, commissioners passed a spending resolution to continue operating past July 1 when the new fiscal year began.
The commission will revisit the FY 2025 budget in the coming weeks. No date has been set.
