The Stonecrest City Council on Aug. 25 approved a resolution amending the FY2025 budget to reallocate $643,650 for staffing, software contracts and accounting clarifications, and approved a $47,300 transfer for URA debt service payments. The vote was 5-0. City Manager Scruggs presented the adjustments before the council and said the transfers would not add new dollars but would reassign existing lines to specific general ledger (GL) accounts for clarity. “We want to establish 2 newly create[d] to create 2 new full time equivalents for human resources, human assistant human resource director, position,” Scruggs said, adding the change responds to growth from about 20 to 85 employees since 2022.

The amendment funds one assistant human resources director and an administrative assistant for facilities, using salary savings from the internal audit department, and creates or reclassifies several finance positions to provide career progression. Scruggs also said the package covers software and service contract needs tied to ongoing migration to Tyler Technologies and to maintain legacy systems while audits for 2022 and 2023 are completed. “When we presented the budget for FY '25, we budgeted for a portion of overlap for our legacy software systems,” she said.

The council heard additional clarifications from Director Gaines regarding municipal court staffing and ARPA allocations. Scruggs said the budget change does not increase the overall appropriation; rather it assigns previously approved amounts to detailed project or department GL lines so future readers can see budgeted versus expended amounts by project. She described $47,300 added to debt service to cover principal and interest on bonds previously issued by the Urban Redevelopment Agency for property purchases including City Hall and the Sam’s building. The council asked whether the internal audit line would still be sufficient to contract for audit services if the charter change (discussed separately) is approved; Scruggs and Gaines responded they believe funding for contracted audit services remains adequate for the remainder of the fiscal year and that FY2026 recommendations will include any needed adjustments.

After discussion, Councilman Terry Fai moved to approve the resolution and Councilwoman Tammy Grimes seconded. The council voted aye across Districts 1–5 and the resolution carried 5-0. The council also received a first-read personnel ordinance (no final vote) to codify the position changes in the pay and classification plan; that ordinance will return for a second reading on a future agenda.

Budget action details: the amendment reallocates funds to create one full-time assistant human resources director, one administrative assistant for facilities (conversion from part-time park ambassador roles to one full-time and one part-time), funds a clerk of courts position and multiple reclassifications in finance, and moves capital and ARPA budgeted amounts into distinct GL lines for transparency. The council packet, Scruggs said, includes the summary and line-level transfers for review. The resolution as read to council was titled “A resolution by the mayor and city council of the city of Stonecrest, Georgia to amend the FY 2025 City Of Stonecrest budget for the purpose of funding various operational needs in the f y 20 25 budget and for other lawful purposes.”

The vote concludes the council’s formal approval of the FY2025 amendment; the related personnel ordinance will undergo a procedural second reading before taking effect.