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Committee flags $952,000 estimated shortfall, proposes capital transfers to rural fire and seeks fleet payoff options
Summary
Finance staff reported an estimated $952,002 shortfall for the current fiscal year and projected a lower fund balance through 2026; committee proposed $250,000 capital disbursement to rural fire departments and asked staff and sheriff to quantify an Enterprise Fleet lease buyout to reduce recurring payments.
Finance staff told the Coffee County Budget & Finance Committee the county’s estimated fund balance will decline from roughly $11.0 million on June 30, 2024, to about $10.0 million by June 30, 2025, reflecting an estimated $952,002 shortfall. Staff reported a further projected fund balance of about $8.0 million by June 30, 2026 under baseline assumptions.
Committee members pressed staff on revenue assumptions, recurring grants and one-time receipts that might reduce the shortfall. Finance staff said recurring and one-time grant receipts — including approximately $600,000 referenced for a multi-year family services program and a $100,000 state grant for a new recovery-court department — could reduce the projected gap, but staff also cautioned that many revenue streams are irregular.
In response to budget pressure, the committee approved using capital/rural funds to allocate $250,000 to rural fire departments split across six volunteer departments (about $41,700 each) for equipment and turnout gear. Committee members noted the capital/rural fund has “considerable money in it” and that the state-supplied smoke-detector installation program helps stretch the county’s prevention dollars.
Members also discussed the county’s Enterprise Fleet lease. Sheriff’s office representatives said the lease carries roughly $258,000 in annual interest and that an early buyout could reduce recurring payments; the sheriff indicated the county currently receives about $75,000 per school in SRO-related funding that might be repurposed to pay off the lease. Committee members asked the sheriff and finance staff to produce a precise buyout figure and identify salary-line offsets to show how much cash could be freed.
The committee set follow-up dates and directed staff to return with updated, itemized revenue and expenditure figures. Members discussed options including freezing department base budgets at prior-year levels (except for maintenance and statutory increases) to make room for employee raises and preserve essential services.
