County Commission tries to bridge budget gap

When the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners and county staff began the budget process, they were projecting around a $1.9 million shortfall. Now after some creative measures, including hikes in ambulance and animal shelter fees, the proposed budget which will be presented at three upcoming public hearings has that shortfall reduced to around $1 million.
As for the taxpayers of Lumpkin County, most tax bills will be higher this year, due in large part to inflationary growth, which raised property values across the board.
The board met for a special called work session on Saturday, July 14 to get the budget ready to advertise and move forward to public hearings, as public hearings on the budget are required anytime there is a tax increase. Now that the digest has been finalized, the board agreed to move forward with a proposed budget that included a millage rate of 9.389 in the unincorporated areas of the county and a rate of 11.281 inside the city limits.
Commissioner Bobby Mayfield expressed that while balancing the budget with fund balance funds isn’t ideal, it’s a price he’s willing to pay as opposed to asking more of the taxpayers.
“With runaway inflation and the extraordinary fuel costs we have, we definitely cannot afford to do the rollback rate, but I think we owe it to our taxpayers to try and hold the line, because their costs are going up just like our costs are going up,” said Mayfield during the board’s special called work session to discuss the budget. “While we may have to take it on the chin for one year and take a bite out of the fund balance, I’m willing to do that in the hopes that we have a brighter future.”
The proposed 2023 budget directs $26.4 million in county spending over the next year. While a millage rate of 9.389 will levy $12.1 million in taxes, county Financial Director Abby Branan said that it’s not realistic to expect that everyone will pay their taxes.
“In the past few years, the budget has included 100 percent of your tax levy,” she said. “It isn’t historically reasonable to include 100 percent because you’re not going to collect every penny that you levy. So what the proposed budget includes is a 97 percent collection rate.”
That 97 percent collection rate is expected to yield an estimated $11,786,965.

CUTTING COSTS

While the board managed to trim the budget, reducing the gap to roughly $1 million, it did come at a cost. County Manager Alan Ours confirmed that the county would be cutting four positions in order to cut costs, but that those cuts would happen through attrition, meaning no county employees would be laid off.
Other means of bridging the budget gap included a raise in fees at the animal shelter and for riding in an ambulance. Fees for Advanced Life Support (ALS) Calls would increase from $680.35 to $750 while fees for Basic Life Support (BLS) Calls would increase from $572.91 to $650. There would also be an increase in the mileage fee from $11.95 to $15 “due to fuel cost,” according to an email provided by Branan. The fees are expected to generate around $100,000 in additional funds, based on recent years.
At the animal shelter, an assortment of various fees, including cat adoption fees, would slightly increase for a total expected revenue increase of $6,360.
The work session also saw the board plan on providing a $9,000 increase to the coroner salary, raising it from $16,000 to $25,000.
While the 2023 budget will have to be balanced using fund balance money, county staff reassured the board that it’s not time to panic. Mayfield asked about the amount of fund balance in regards to the budget, and what the recommended ratio was to be. Branan said that ACCG suggests that governmental agencies such as the county operate with a fund balance between 15 to 25 percent of your overall budget and that the county would sit at roughly 24 percent, after using the $1 million required to balance the budget.
Commission Chairman Chris Dockery said that while using fund balance money in this way is not ideal, he believes that growth is on the way.
“It’s not the optimal way to balance your budget, but when you look at all the anticipated growth of the county and then you look at total reevaluation of commercial property, it doesn’t concern me as much as if we didn’t have those things on the horizon,” Dockery said. “...If we were sitting here next year and we used fund balance last year, then I would have to say no to using fund balance two years in a row because I think you’re going down a slippery slope. But I think this year if we could use that fund balance to get us where we need to be and then look at growth in the county next year, I think we’ll be ok.”
The board is set to hold public hearings regarding the budget on August 9 at 6 p.m., August 11 at 9 a.m. and August 23 at 4 p.m. with a special called meeting to follow at 4:30 p.m. to adopt the budget.