Last week, interim Habersham County Manager Tim Sims sought to clarify 2026 budget numbers reported by Now Habersham. The initial report compared the 2025 general fund budget to the 2026 budget requests made by department heads and constitutional officers during March’s budget review meetings, showing a $2.3 million increase in spending.
Sims clarified that the figures used for comparison were derived from a county document posted on the county’s website—the FY2025 Budget Guide Book. This comprehensive document, which spans 251 pages, outlines all of the county’s anticipated expenses and revenues for fiscal year 2025.
It was pointed out that the general fund budget listed in the document on pages 36 and 37 was $36,599,399. However, this figure did not account for $2,572,086 in amounts that were transferred out of the budget. According to Sims, these transfers were required by the Georgia Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to be listed separately in the final budget, which can cause confusion for the public.
“I hate the way GFOA makes us list the budget in that fashion for the budget document. It is confusing to the average citizen what truly is the total budget,” Sims remarked.
When these transfer amounts are added back into the budget, Sims explained that the actual 2025 general fund budget was $39,171,485. With this clarification, Sims said the 2026 budget requests, while appearing higher at first glance, are actually very close to the previous year’s budget.
In fact, when compared to the $39.17 million general fund budget, the 2026 budget requests are actually 0.62% lower, or $244,168 less. “It looks as though we are on target with last year or a bit lower than last year’s total budget so far,” Sims said. “Plus, we have not even started any cuts to those requests at this time.”
The budget process is far from complete, as other funds and revenues still need to be accounted for and included before the total budget is finalized in June. Sims emphasized that the numbers are still subject to change as the county continues to review and adjust budget requests.
