Fayette County presents FY2025 budget with no tax increase, $6.06M five-year CIP

Fayette County Chief Financial Officer Sheryl Weinmann presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget to the Board of Commissioners at a special-called meeting on May 29, 2024, saying the plan includes a millage rate rollback so there would be no tax increase and funds a five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) totaling $6,061,021.

Weinmann said the county projects a FY2024 fund balance of $30,766,512 with a Stabilization Fund of about $19.9 million, an emergency fund of $2 million and an estimated unassigned balance of $2.4 million after the proposed budget. "The County does not use one-time revenues to fund current expenditures," Weinmann told the board, emphasizing that capital projects are linked to operating budget capacity.

The budget presentation detailed major revenue sources and allocations. Property taxes, sales taxes and the title ad valorem tax (TAVT) were said to make up roughly 82% of General Fund revenues; Weinmann gave a FY2025 TAVT projection of $7.8 million and projected local option sales tax at $19 million. She said public safety would remain the largest General Fund expenditure at about 41% and personnel costs are the single largest cost category at roughly 64%.

On personnel and compensation, Weinmann outlined staffing and pay proposals the budget would support: 805.51 positions total (793 full-time and 30 part-time, equivalent to 12.51 FTEs), a net FTE increase of roughly 17.275 (about 2.2% rise), and a proposed county minimum wage increase to $16 per hour. She described a planned personnel pay study budgeted at $19,043 to review classification and compensation in several departments with results expected by December and said any recommended adjustments from the study would be presented to the board as a budget amendment.

Weinmann also presented an alternative merit-pay model, a forced-ranking distribution she calculated would require about 3.75% of eligible payroll (a distribution fund of $2,192,793) if the county adopted that approach. She said the county would continue offering current benefit plans, including a Traditional Open Access POS with an HRA and an HDHP with HSA, and highlighted expanded wellness partnerships and programs with Piedmont Hospital and Cigna.

Operational and capital highlights included $2.9 million for defined benefit allocation across funds, road resurfacing programs, commitments to vehicle and equipment replacement (nearly $2.3 million total, including two pumpers and 12 sheriff vehicles), and fund-specific items such as 911 operating costs (Carbyne license, AT&T/Megalink agreement, cell tower leases) and water system capital and operations expenses. Weinmann said the proposed budget increases the General Fund balance by $428,048.

County Administrator Steve Rapson noted the county's 14-year AAA rating and praised the Finance Department for producing a budget that leaders said positions the county to fund vehicles, equipment and staffing needs without a tax increase. Weinmann reminded the board that the first public hearing on the proposed budget would be held June 13, 2024 at 5:00 p.m., and the second public hearing and budget adoption were scheduled for June 27, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

At the meeting's close, Commissioners thanked staff for the work on the budget. No formal vote on the budget occurred at the May 29 meeting; the board approved only routine meeting motions (agenda approval and adjournment).