Henry County proposes $287.8 million FY26 budget; keeps millage at 15.733 mills

Henry County staff on Thursday presented a proposed FY2026 General Fund and Special Service District budget of $287,800,000, a 10.8% increase over the FY2025 adopted budget, and recommended keeping the county millage rate at 15.733 mills.

The proposal, delivered by Benita Campbell, the county budget presenter, calls for funding to maintain current service levels while adding targeted capacity for growth. "Today, we will go through our second review of our FY 26 Proposed General Fund and Special Service District budget, which now includes the revenue projections," Campbell told the Board.

The proposed budget would support three major additions identified by county leadership: construction/operations for the North Mount Carmel Recreation Center, support for the newly established Henry County Police Academy, and preparation for two new fire stations (Stations 17 and 18) planned for FY2026 and FY2027. Major line items Campbell listed include $1,800,000 for critical-need personnel; $1,400,000 in personnel and expenses related to the fifth State Court Judge scheduled to begin in January 2026; $6,000,000 for debt payments; $4,200,000 for longevity and cost-of-living adjustments; $3,200,000 for insurance and pension increases; $1,500,000 for DLT (not further specified in the presentation); $3,300,000 for inmate medical costs and additional jail personnel; and $2,000,000 in additional costs for fire personnel for Stations 17 and 18.

Campbell said the recommended FY26 General Fund and Special Service District budget of $287,800,000 is $28,100,000 higher than the FY25 adopted budget of $259,700,000. Departmental requests for personnel and operating expenses totaled $36,400,000; county leadership recommends including $9,700,000 of that, a reduction of roughly $27,000,000 from requests. The presentation said the county assumed maintaining the current millage rate in preparing the proposal.

The staff presentation noted recent revenue and audit context: during FY25 the county recorded an additional $17,700,000 of collections after November tax receipts, which were not formally added to the FY25 budget by Board action but were allocated consistent with prior commitments. Campbell said those allocations included $7,500,000 for fire capital purchases, $6,400,000 set aside in fund balance as contingency, $2,900,000 toward debt payments on the Central Energy plant, and $900,000 for critical personnel and operations. She said the county lost $337,000 in grant funding during FY25 and expects reimbursements of $390,000 related to FY24 grant expenses; the presentation tied full restoration of grant funding to completion of the outstanding FY24 audit projected for completion prior to FY26.

Campbell also described demographic pressures underlying the proposal, citing regional growth projections. The slide deck said Henry County has seen population increases every year from 2010 to 2022 and reported a numeric increase of about 4,750 residents during the 2020–2024 period. Staff cited an Atlanta Regional Commission projection that the Atlanta region could reach roughly 7.9 million residents by 2050 and that Henry County’s population could be about 346,000 by 2050 (a 44% increase from the 2020 Census), figures that staff used to justify investment in infrastructure and public safety.

The recommended budget includes 78 new positions, 12 of which are support staff tied to the fifth State Court Judge scheduled to take office in January 2026. Campbell said departments were asked to keep spending near current levels but that state mandates and county priorities made some increases unavoidable. She said the county’s budget philosophy is to maintain the current millage rate, offer competitive pay and benefits, advance board priorities and partnerships, and avoid relying on fund balance for recurring operations.

Board members asked several follow-up questions. Commissioner Wilson (District 1) asked whether the Board of Commissioners’ budget had increased; Campbell replied, "Yes Sir for personnel and for operational expenses." When asked for a total, Campbell provided an operational increase of $35,000 and a personnel increase recorded in the packet (amount clarified on-screen during the meeting). A discussion about an ongoing classification and compensation study followed; Campbell said the county expects the study’s projected completion in late June and that recommendations would likely be implemented midyear. Miss Lafontaine, identified in the presentation as the HR director, confirmed that once the study is complete the county would propose midyear adjustments based on its recommendations.

Campbell closed by noting next steps in the FY26 budget calendar: a first public hearing set for May 6, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. and a second public hearing and adoption vote scheduled for May 28, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. She then took questions from commissioners.

Later in the meeting, the board voted to recess to an executive session to discuss personnel matters, and after reconvening the board moved and seconded approval of an affidavit and resolution related to that executive session. Both motions were seconded and the chair called for the ayes; the transcript records "all in favor? Okay," indicating the motions passed but does not record a roll-call tally in the public transcript. The transcript does not provide further detail about personnel matters discussed in executive session or the affidavit’s content.