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Long County shifts $190,000 to cover jail inmate costs as manager warns of mounting fiscal pressures
Summary
The board unanimously amended the 2026 budget to transfer $190,000 from sheriff SRO funds to pay inmate expenses to neighboring counties and approved a $3,000 transfer for Superior Court salaries; County Manager Chuck Scragg warned of rising expenses, debt obligations and delayed FEMA reimbursements.
The Long County Board of Commissioners approved two budget amendments and heard a cautionary financial update from County Manager Chuck Scragg.
Commissioner Gerald Blocker moved to amend the 2026 budget to transfer $190,000 from the Sheriff's budget — funds the county recently received from the Long County Board of Education for school resource officers — to pay Long County jail inmate expenses owed to adjacent counties. The board approved the measure 4-0, and the budget will be amended in December 2025 to restore the SRO funds to the Sheriff's line item when real property tax collections are received. The board separately approved a $3,000 transfer from the General Fund pest control line item to the Superior Court Judges Salaries line item for a court budget request; that motion also passed 4-0.
Manager Scragg read an open letter to residents and creditors outlining fiscal pressures: rising operating costs, outstanding debt obligations, jail operation costs, road maintenance burdens, and delays in FEMA and GEMA reimbursements. He urged fiscal responsibility and timely revenue collection. Scragg told the board the county expects a $1 million insurance check in October and continued work to secure federal/state reimbursements, but said those funds remain pending.
Finance Director Bernice Johnson confirmed the county's auditor is Mauldin & Jenkins when asked during public comment. The board also discussed the tax digest delay: because the millage rate will not change but assessed values have increased, state law requires public hearings that must be scheduled once the digest is received; the item was tabled pending receipt of the digest.
