Augusta commission adopts rollback millage, draws $2.89 million from fund balance to cover 2025 shortfall

The Augusta Commission on Tuesday approved keeping the 2025 millage at the statutory rollback rate and authorized using $2,891,790 from the county fund balance to cover a projected 2025 shortfall.

The action, adopted on a 10-1 vote, was moved by Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle and seconded by Commissioner Brandon Garrett. Commissioner Barnhill Turnley cast the lone opposing vote.

The decision holds property tax rates at the rollback level rather than raising them, while addressing immediate budget pressures officials said are tied to one-time pandemic relief used for ongoing expenses and a year of unusually high employee health claims.

"If we do the rollback, there's no increases," Interim Finance Director Tim Schraer told commissioners during the discussion, then laid out revenue and timing details. Schraer said the county is projecting about $1 million less in revenues if the rollback is used rather than higher millage and that the municipality had relied on roughly $7.5 million in ARP funds in this year's budget.

Commissioners debated whether to raise millage to cover the shortfall and longer-term spending before Coun. Guilfoyle offered a motion to keep the rollback and draw from the fund balance this year. "I'm gonna make a motion that we take it out of our fund balance to satisfy this shortfall for the year 2025," Guilfoyle said. Garrett seconded the motion.

Commissioner Don Clark urged the commission to treat the drawdown as a stopgap and to use the 2026 budget process to find ongoing savings and revenue to avoid repeating the pattern. "We're the fiscal authority for our county government and we got work to do," Clark said.

The commission's action will permit the county to move ahead without raising the tax rate this year, but several members said they expect further changes ahead to employee benefits structure and other costs. Schraer warned that claims experience and benefit design changes mean health-care costs could require further adjustments beyond 2026.

The commission set the procedural timetable for adoption of millage rates and related public meetings as required by state law. Commissioners also noted that the local school board — a separate taxing authority — recently raised its millage, a factor residents sometimes conflate with county decisions.

Commissioners said staff will bring more detailed budget options to fall work sessions and the next round of budget deliberations.

Votes: Motion to adopt rollback millage and cover the 2025 shortfall from the fund balance (mover: Wayne Guilfoyle; second: Brandon Garrett) — outcome: approved; tally: yes 10, no 1.