Augusta commission deadlocks on budget after split over sheriff’s request and millage increase

Augusta-Richmond County commissioners spent most of their Dec. 2 reconvened meeting wrestling with how to close a multi‑million dollar gap in the proposed FY2026 budget, centered on a reduced but still sizable request from the sheriff’s office and disputed proposals to raise property tax rates.

Administrator Dan Allen told the commission the sheriff’s original $13.4 million ask had been pared to $6,879,280 through negotiated concessions, but that remaining increase — driven largely by higher inmate medical costs, rising employee health insurance and the need to fill positions — is still significant. To make the budget balance, staff recommended a set of across‑the‑board reductions and a possible 0.85–to‑1.0 mill tax increase to fund the law‑enforcement line items.

Several commissioners pressed for detail about the timing and permanence of a millage change. Allen said any millage vote must be included in the budget projection now but the formal millage adoption and roll‑back hearing occur in the statutory August process; revenue from a new millage would appear in the 2026 tax bills when bills are due next year.

Sheriff's Office leaders, including Chief…