Whitfield County reviews preliminary 2024 budget at Nov. 8 workshop; no action taken

Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen called a budget workshop to order at 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 8 at county offices in Dalton to review a preliminary 2024 budget presented by Chief Finance Officer Debbie Godfrey. County Administrator Robert Sivick and County Attorney Robert Smalley were among officials present, along with department heads, press and members of the public.

Godfrey presented a preliminary county budget for 2024 and provided materials for the board's review and discussion. According to the meeting minutes, several agencies addressed the board to request additional funds for the coming year; the minutes do not specify which agencies or the amounts requested. The record states the workshop was convened to further discuss department and elected-official budget requests after prior meetings on individual requests.

No motions or votes were recorded during the session. The minutes state that the board took no formal action at the workshop; the meeting concluded at 7:30 p.m. The record lists the five commissioners in attendance — Chairman Jevin Jensen, Vice Chairman Barry W. Robbins, Robby Staten, John Thomas and Greg Jones — and notes that Blanca Cardona served as county clerk for the meeting.

The workshop is part of the county's budget process; because this meeting produced no formal decisions, the board will need to take subsequent steps to adopt a final 2024 budget on a later date. Additional details about the agencies' funding requests and any revisions to the preliminary budget were not specified in the minutes.