Statesboro officials outline FY2026 budget with fee increases, enterprise loans to cover fire service gap

Statesboro City staff presented a proposed FY2026 budget June 3 that would hold staffing levels steady while recommending fee increases across utilities and a one-time interfund loan to cover a shortfall in the fire service fund.

At a public hearing, a staff presenter identified as Mister Finney said the budget represents a roughly 6% total decrease from FY2025 driven largely by the expiration of about $9 million in ARPA funds used in the prior year. "We recommend a pay plan adjustment...the 4% pay adjustment to our pay plan," Finney said, adding that the budget includes multiple recommended fee increases, most at about 10 percent, for convenience fees, water and sewer rates, stormwater, solid waste collection and disposal, police extra-duty fees and certain construction fees.

The budget matters because it affects utility customers, property owners and the city's ability to maintain reserves. Finney told the council staff used a 12% property tax digest growth estimate in revenue projections and said the city will use $928,007.55 of general fund balance to balance the FY2026 budget while aiming to preserve a council policy target of a 25% fund balance.

The proposed package includes a 4% pay adjustment recommended by an outside pay consultant and pay-for-performance funding; Finney noted no department head staffing increases are included. He called out infrastructure and utilities as areas of emphasis and outlined that the sewer fund will be sized to repay large capital debt if the council proceeds with a planned 4 million-gallon-per-day package plan, which he estimated could cost $80 million to $100 million and require annual debt service of $5 million to $6 million over roughly 20 years.

On the fire service budget, Finney said the loss of a fire district tax created a large gap. His recommended short-term response is a one-time loan from enterprise funds to the fire fund, to be repaid over 10 years: $1.8 million from the natural-gas fund, $680,000 from another enterprise, and $707,000 from the solid-waste collection fund. "You can only do this one time," he said, calling the measure a short-term fix while the city evaluates longer-term options, including a consultant study of a possible fire fee that the council will receive at a future work session.

Council members asked questions about the fund-balance level and growth assumptions. Finney said the general fund balance was "about 30%" in the current year and reiterated caution about relying on interest earnings to balance budgets, noting recent interest income used in prior budgets would decline if rates fall. Council members also discussed the city's anticipated development pipeline: Finney and others said staff are tracking roughly 4,500 proposed housing units citywide, about 2,500 of which could begin construction soon, and that large individual permit valuations have already raised the tax digest for the current fiscal year.

Mayor and council members emphasized the tradeoffs of growth and the need to protect existing residents while expanding the tax base. One council member praised staff for "a creative solution to dealing with the lawsuit of the fire district" and urged continued care for residents amid development. The council opened and closed the public hearing on the FY2026 budget; the transcript does not record final adoption of the budget at this meeting.

If approved later, the measures in the proposed budget would change several user fees, increase pay across the pay plan by 4% and authorize the proposed interfund loan to the fire fund. The city will return to the council for formal adoption at a later date and for any resolutions required should the fund balance dip below the council's 25% target.

Details: the staff presentation listed a recommended 10% increase for many fees, a 4% pay plan adjustment, use of $928,007.55 from the general fund to balance FY2026, a fire fund budget of $8,036,930 and planning for long-term sewer debt service estimated at $5 million to $6 million per year if a $80—$100 million project proceeds.