Lincoln County chairman outlines infrastructure, emergency services upgrades in State of the County
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Summary
Chairman Walker Norman delivered Lincoln County’s annual State of the County on Jan. 13, 2026, detailing investments in emergency services, new ambulances, EOC upgrades, road resurfacing, and library system changes while noting a proposed 5.29% increase in the FY2026 budget.
Chairman Walker Norman delivered the annual State of the County address at the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners’ January meeting, highlighting upgrades to emergency services, new equipment purchases, and infrastructure work planned and completed during 2025.
Norman thanked volunteer fire departments and first responders and outlined recent investments in the county’s emergency operations capabilities. He said the Emergency Operations Center received new audiovisual equipment and monitors, and the 911 communications center was moved into the Emergency Services headquarters on Global Drive with an expansion from two to four workstations and refreshed Motorola CallWorks software and hardware.
Norman said EMS received a new ambulance purchased for $220,000 from SPLOST 7 assigned to Station 11 and that the board has authorized a second ambulance at a cost of $191,268, also paid from SPLOST 7. He reported EMS responded to 1,626 ambulance calls in 2025 with an average dispatch-to-scene time of about eight minutes.
On infrastructure, the chairman noted 27 miles of road resurfacing in 2025 at a reported cost of $4,630,246 funded by a mix of local maintenance improvement funds, transportation SPLOST and the CSRA Transportation Investment program; milling and patching cost $917,956 with funding from LME, the Georgia Department of Transportation and T-SPLOST. Engineering work has begun for Goldman, Johnson and McGill roads for 2026.
Norman also announced Lincoln County will serve as headquarters for a newly formed Eastern Regional Library System that will serve Burke, Lincoln and Warren counties, and said library operations will be centered at 170 School Street in the former 911 communications building.
On county finances, Norman presented FY2025 and FY2026 figures: FY2025 budget $8,354,776.26 and a proposed FY2026 budget of $8,797,426, an increase of $442,650 (5.29%). He identified six budget drivers totaling $578,368, including health insurance ($208,000), payroll increases ($227,991), retirement ($51,986), liability insurance ($64,986) and a $15,000 state‑mandated PTSD insurance item.
Norman closed by reiterating the county’s readiness to serve residents and thanking county staff and department heads for their work.
