Athens-Clarke County leaders present FY26 budget, set public hearing schedule after state software delay

County staff on Thursday presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget that keeps major rates steady, adds a small number of positions and relies on a modest draw from prior-year reserves, while commissioners adjusted the schedule for required taxpayer hearings after a state software delay.

The budget presented uses roughly $700,000 of prior-year fund balance, calls for about $201,000,000 in general-fund expenditures and totals just under $350,000,000 across all funds, staff said. "I only use about $700,000 of prior year fund balance," said Nick (staff member), the presentation lead. The manager's recommended plan includes a 3% across-the-board pay-table increase for standard staff, a 4% market increase for long‑time unified pay employees, and a 3% pay-table increase for public-safety employees.

Why it matters: the budget funds day‑to‑day county services, new and ongoing positions, and plans for midyear hires while commissioners balance the need for public review and the statutory process that governs tax assessments and budget adoption.

Key budget details: the proposed plan holds the noted rate flat at 12.45 (as presented to the commission), and includes targeted new spending: an assistant director position in information technology (about $60,000 charged to public utilities), two public-utilities positions for project development and equipment maintenance, an additional $90,000 in Transportation and Public Works for streetlight electricity, roughly $50,000 for charged-item recycling processing in solid waste, an added scribe analyst position for the Police Department's real-time crime center, three additional fire/emergency positions introduced midyear at a roughly $220,000 general-fund cost (plus a fire‑marshal position funded from building‑inspection fees), $177,000 in sheriff's-budget medical services for in‑custody individuals, a second probate judge position at about $120,000 for the probate court, and a $41,000 elections assistant in the elections office.

Budget calendar and taxpayer hearings: Brad (staff member) said the county's use of a statewide assessment software was delayed by corrections tied to recently adopted state legislation; assessment notices will be mailed next week. "You should receive them next week, and I'll email this with you all in writing," Brad said. The delay pushed the timing of the three statutorily required Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) hearings. The commission tentatively set the first TBOR hearing for the June 3 voting meeting, a special‑call second hearing for June 5, and — after discussion — agreed to hold the third required hearing and a special‑call meeting to consider budget adoption on June 10 to provide more runway for staff to complete July 1 preparations.

Commissioners debated the tradeoffs between holding public hearings and leaving staff time to finish implementation tasks. Commissioner Culpepper said delaying adoption to allow the public to comment would be preferable; others noted longer delays would compress staff's timeline for making the budget effective July 1. Staff said adopting the millage rate does not technically have to coincide with budget adoption, but the public expects the TBOR hearings to precede final action.

Process, risks and dependencies: staff repeatedly emphasized external dependencies that affect timing and implementation, including the state assessment software, potential changes in federal funding streams (CDBG and HOME grant funds were mentioned as examples of funds that could be reduced at the federal level), and pending salary studies. The recommended budget deliberately minimizes use of fund balance compared with previous years, staff said, while preserving capacity to respond to changes in revenues or state/federal policy.

Public-safety and technology items: commissioners asked for more documentation on the Police Department's real‑time crime center, including the original staffing request and operating costs; several commissioners asked that the police department provide written backup so the commission can compare the initial ask to what is in the budget. Staff said the real‑time crime center has two existing analyst positions and the recommended budget adds a third; the department previously requested four.

Affordable housing and special revenue funds: commissioners pressed staff about a previously designated $5,000,000 affordable‑housing special‑revenue fund that remains unspent. Staff said the money was placed in a special revenue account at last year's direction and has not been used because legal mechanisms and program structures (for example, a housing trust fund or use of county land through an authority) have not yet been finalized. Commissioner Myers and others urged staff and the attorney's office to return with a legal path to deploy those funds, and several commissioners proposed adding recurring contributions to the fund in future budgets.

Next steps: staff will email the commission written follow‑up materials (assessment mailing timeline, the original real‑time crime‑center request, position and vacancy tables, ARPA interest reporting and legal options for affordable‑housing deployment). Commissioners agreed to the June 3 TBOR meeting, the June 5 special call and a June 10 special‑call adoption meeting to allow time for public input after assessment notices are mailed.

Ending: Staff reiterated that the state software delay affected multiple jurisdictions across Georgia and that assessment notices will go out next week; commissioners asked for follow‑up documents and additional detail ahead of the scheduled hearings.