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Pickens County holds public hearing on proposed $40.2 million 2025 budget; staff says balanced without using fund balance
Summary
At a November meeting the Pickens County Board of Commissioners presented the proposed 2025 budget — a balanced plan with $40,213,437 in general fund revenues and no planned use of fund balance — and paused for public comment; commissioners will review the budget again at a December work session.
The Pickens County Board of Commissioners opened a public hearing at its November meeting to present the proposed 2025 county budget, which Chair Chris described as a balanced plan with total general-fund revenues and expenditures of $40,213,437. "Unassigned general fund balance of $13,148,785 was carried forward in 2024," Chris told the board, noting that the county did not plan to use fund balance to balance next year’s budget.
The presentation framed the budget around a mission of transparent local government and prioritized public safety, judicial services and personnel costs. Chris said public safety accounts for the largest share of expenditures — about 49.04% — and that personnel costs drive the majority of the budget’s increase: "personnel driven" items such as salaries, health insurance and retirement account for roughly 74.6% of the countywide increases.
Revenue projections presented by county staff allocate roughly 41% of revenue to real property taxes, about 21% to other taxes, and about 14.6% to local option sales tax; the presentation stated there is no planned use of fund balance in the 2025 proposal. The county’s enterprise funds were described separately: the water enterprise was listed at $3,780,861 and the airport enterprise at $1,370,753. Chair Chris said the judicial grants fund (for the Appalachian judicial circuit shared with Fannin and Gilmer counties) shows $3,388,746 in revenue and expenditures.
The board also reviewed the county’s 2020 SPLOST — a one-cent sales tax approved by voters through 2026 — and staff presented the SPLOST allocation plan, noting 43.35% would go to county public works (roads) and other portions to municipalities, parks, airport bond repayment and public safety.
During the hearing a member of the public asked whether the full draft budget is available online while it remains under consideration; Chris said the binder version is available for review at the clerk’s office while the budget remains in draft form and that the board will present a second full presentation during the board’s December work session.
Next steps: the county held the public hearing and closed it by voice vote at the same meeting; the commissioners will revisit the budget at the December work session for further review before final adoption.
