The Liberty County Board of Commissioners delayed a vote June 4 on the county’s proposed $61.8 million General Operations budget for fiscal year 2025, instead passing a continuing resolution to hold spending at current levels for the next 90 days.
The board voted to wait until the state sends back preliminary property tax digests, which will give them a better idea of where the county will need to set next year’s tax rate.
Under the continuing resolution, the 90-day General Operations budget is “set at an amount equal to the County’s current monthly operational budget amount, excluding debts, without consideration for any others” from July 1 through Sept. 30. The county would not take on any “new contracts for extended service,” County Administrator Joey Brown said, only paying the contracts it has to pay.
Brown told commissioners they do not have to wait the full 90 days should they decide to adopt the FY 2025 budget sooner. But it does give them a window until Oct. 1. “You would really know what you would want to do in tweaking the budget, and then what the millage [rate] will need to be,” he said.
“The total budget request came in at approximately $66.8 million, and we worked through budget workshops with you all to make cuts totaling $5 million,” said the county’s Chief Financial Officer Samantha Richardson. “The FY25 budget, as proposed currently, is $61.8 million, which is approximately 6.7% higher than the budget adopted for FY24.”
No citizens attended Tuesday’s meeting in person, with only a few watching the livestream — a stark contrast with the full house that packed millage-rate hearings last November.
Buying a little time
District 6 Commissioner Eddie Walden asked, “Do we need to try to wait a little bit and see if any more money’s coming in? When is the last day we can do this?” The fiscal year ends June 30.
“Coming in from where? What revenue source?” asked Chairman Donald Lovette.
“Whatever revenue source there is,” Walden replied. “She’s giving us a number now….there’s a possibility we can hold the line for the next few months and see what we’ve got. What is in our fund balance now?”
Richardson said the county’s General Fund had $32.2 million, with a little over $28 million of that unreserved.
Brown explained, “Your revenue coming in for the remainder of the year, until tax bills go out, as you all know, is limited to fines and forfeitures and local option sales tax primarily. You won’t have any other significant revenue that’s achieved.”
The board adopted a 90-day budget at a proposed $14.3 million, about half of the unreserved amount in the county’s fund balance. These figures are based on current spending levels for FY 2024, which ends on June 30:
Richardson told The Current that projected General Fund revenues for the 90-day period would include both existing reserves and routine revenues like permits and fines and forfeitures: “I would say it’s a mixture of the two. We certainly do not anticipate that amount of property taxes to come in within the next 90 days. However, many of the other revenue items are received monthly, and we would expect these amounts to closely represent expected collections.”
State assessment notice confuses homeowners, lawmakers
Walden said, “I’d just like to see us go just till we can feel the pinch, because everybody in my district has already felt the pinch, those folks in this county that’s gotten their [property tax] assessment, and some people you know that’s having their taxes taken out of when they pay their mortgage every month.”
The Georgia Assembly passed a law ending the assessment notices, but it did not go into effect before this year’s notices went out, said Brown. Because many people mistake the notice for a tax bill — even though the notices are clearly marked “This is not a tax bill” — they get upset and think that is what they owe. But the number on the assessment is not based on the coming year’s millage rates, which won’t be passed for several months. That confuses many taxpayers. Commissioner Connie Thrift said she had seen people “in all three of these offices” the week the notices were sent out.
Lovette replied, “That’s good. I want them to do that.” Lovette has said that he wants property owners to apply for whatever exemptions they can get.
Lovette noted that the county had taken on “some relatively new expenditures and we’re just now settling into those — i.e., fire; i.e., the salary survey, and don’t forget all the liability, the property and casualty shares.”
In addition, Brown said, “There are some things that are increasing that you’ve already approved…such as the public defender program for the state. I mean, we’ll have to start paying that.”
Meanwhile, the board awaits the state’s annual approval for the tax digest before it can even think about next year’s potential property taxes.
A look at proposed spending
Richardson provided The Current with a copy of the tentative FY2025 budget, which has not yet been approved and is therefore subject to change:
The tentative budget request shows most departments will not get anything for computers, travel, or part-time staff.
Here’s a look at some of the things the county wants to buy with your tax dollars:
Computers: $14,500
- County Commission $500
- Fire Services $4,000
- EMS $5,000
- Animal Services $1,000
- Recreation $2,000
- Building and Licensing $2,000
Travel: $331,825
- County Commission $96,400 total; $10,000 travel; $86,400 per diem
- Commission Chairperson $24,100 total; $2,500 travel; $21,600 per diem
- Administration $2,200
- Elections and Voter Registration $20,000, with $0 for members of the Board of Elections
- Financial Administration $2,000
- Data Processing $4,325
- Tax Commissioner $4,500
- Tax Assessors $25,000
- Board of Equalization $500
- Building Maintenance $700
- Clerk of Courts $2,000
- District Attorney $10,000
- State Court $400
- State Court Judge $3,000
- Magistrate Court $4,500
- Probate Court $5,000
- Juvenile Court $2,000
- Bureau of Professional Standards $65,000
- School Resource Officers $7,000
- Fire Services $20,000
- EMS $5,000
- Coroner/Medical Examiner $6,000
- Animal Services $500
- Emergency Management $3,000
- Mosquito Control $700
- Recreation $10,000
- Agricultural Resources travel and conference, $4,000
- Building and Licensing $500
- Youth Program travel and conference, $3,500
Education and Training: $136,250
- County Commission $5,500
- Commission Chairperson $7,500
- Administration $6,200
- Elections and Voter Registration $8,000
- Financial Administration $7,000
- Data Processing $2,000
- Tax Commissioner $3,000
- Tax Assessors $7,500
- Board of Equalization $500
- Building Maintenance $1,000
- Clerk of Courts $2,000
- State Court $200
- Magistrate Court $4,500
- Probate Court $2,000
- Juvenile Court $1,600
- Bureau of Professional Standards $23,000
- School Resource Officers $3,500
- Fire Services public safety education, $5,000
- EMS $25,000
- Coroner/Medical Examiner $4,000
- Animal Services $2,000
- Emergency Management $10,000
- Road Department $250
- Mosquito Control $700
- Recreation $2,500
- Agricultural Resources $1,000
- Building and Licensing $800.
Other Financing: $968,000
- Transfers out to the Insurance Fund $268,000
- E911 $700,000.
Intergovernmental Programs: $377,300
- Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission $200,000
- Rural Transportation $65,000
- Wright Army Air Field Operations (location for MidCoast Regional Airport) $50,000
- Hinesville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transit Plan $48,300
- Friends of Liberty $6,000
- Professional $3,000
- Morgue Supplement $2,500
- Official/Administrative $2,000
Communications: $528,008
- County Commission $5,100
- Commission Chairperson $1,200
- Administration $8,708
- Elections/Voter Registration $10,000
- Financial Administration $6,187
- Data Processing $65,718
- Tax Commissioner $7,500
- Tax Assessors $32,000
- Board of Equalization $400
- Building Maintenance $9,400
- Superior Court $5,849
- Clerk of Courts $46,633
- District Attorney $20,000
- State Court $575
- State Court Judge $1,780
- Magistrate Court $5,700
- Probate Court $4,000
- Juvenile Court $3,050
- Circuit Wide Public Defender $13,000
- Bureau of Professional Standards $130,000
- School Resource Officers $6,720
- Flemington Law county attorney $600
- Fire Services $72,261
- EMS $20,000
- Coroner/Medical Examiner $10,000
- Animal Services $5,000
- Emergency Management $8,368
- Road Department $8,000
- Mosquito Control $3,500
- Recreation $8,000
- Agricultural Services $4,555
- Building and Licensing $4,204
Temporary Employees: $1,404,235
- Elections and Voter Registration $171,000
- Tax Commissioner $81,058
- Building Maintenance $24,362
- Clerk of Courts $26,472
- Magistrate Court $162,951
- Juvenile Court $146,900
- Bureau of Professional Standards $100,000
- HEAT Unit $1,200
- Fire Services $200,000
- Coroner/Medical Examiner $14,400
- Animal Services $67,180
- Mosquito Control $27,451
- Recreation $320,000
- Building and Licensing $32,261
- Youth Program $29,000
The county leases its vehicles from Enterprise, which is cheaper than buying and maintaining depreciating assets, to the tune of $731,000.
Senior Citizen/Chamber requested $30,000 in “payments to others” and $40,500 to “Senior Citizen, Inc.”
