SCBOC Close to Finalizing Draft FY2025 Budget

Yesterday morning, following three full days of Budget Retreat meetings, the Stephens County Board of Commissioners met for a final budget meeting to wrap up a few lingering details, and County Administrator Christian Hamilton said commissioners put significant work into trimming expenditures for the coming fiscal year, and the county is now in the process of putting together a draft balanced budget that will be presented to the community in upcoming public hearings. 

Hamilton sat down with WNEG News yesterday afternoon to talk about the budget process, the next steps in adopting a budget for the coming fiscal year, and some highlights from the past two weeks’ meetings with department heads, constitutional officers, agency leaderships and staff.

Hamilton said the process went smoothly this year.

He said that the Board of Commissioners does not have the finalized tax digest yet, so there has been no set millage rate decided on, but he did say that the county is planning on rolling back the insurance premium for the first time in more than 30 years.

Hamilton discussed the “next steps” in the budget process.

He commended department heads on their efforts to cut departmental budgets this year.

He also discussed the Board’s emphasis on merit-based compensation decisions, as opposed to across-the-board raises. 

Hamilton also talked about the challenges of meeting unfunded state mandates.

Closing out the interview, Hamilton highlighted priorities in the budget discussions this year, focusing on EMS and Fire services.

WNEG News will continue to cover the budget process, including more in-depth reviews of departmental budgets, in the coming days.