Statham council approves substitute motion to adopt FY27 budget after cuts and restorations

The Statham City Council on a special-called meeting approved a substitute motion to adopt the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget with several targeted changes, including a $22,000 reduction to the general administration department and a $5,000 allocation for community center supplies.

The mayor opened the meeting and reviewed proposed line-item reductions that had been circulated by Council member Penn and others, citing cuts of $27,000 to general administration, a $22,000 reduction to salaries that appeared aimed at the city administrator position, and proposed eliminations or reductions to event funding and community center supplies. The mayor warned that cutting certain lines would reduce capacity for after-hours repairs, community events and safety equipment purchases and urged the council to consider operational impacts before voting: "When funding is removed without clear justification, the consequences are felt not by elected officials, but by the staff, residents, families, and children who benefit from the services and programs these funds support," the mayor said.

City staff (addressed in the record as Rachel) summarized the budget on the table, saying it included three changes agreed at a June 2 hearing — notably police department phones budgeted at $4,400 — and that additional changes required council consensus to be incorporated for adoption. Staff also flagged that the events line item had already been overspent for a recent "Star Spangled" stadium event by roughly $17,000 and cautioned that reducing the events budget to zero would create a negative balance requiring a subsequent budget amendment.

Council members debated specific figures. On community center supplies, council members and staff discussed a range of possible allocations; staff suggested $2,500–$5,000 would be a safer figure than eliminating the line entirely. On overtime, councilors questioned a utility billing clerk's year-to-date overtime (about $7,000 reported in the record). Staff explained that positions such as the utility billing clerk and water technician are paid out of the water and sewer fund, not the Public Works Administration department, and that the budgeted overtime intended to cover those positions totaled approximately $9,200.

After procedural clarification from staff about how to present amendments (including a citation to the city charter's budgeting control at the department level), a council member offered a substitute motion "to approve the proposed budget with the three changes that were discussed and add the reduction of $22,000 from general administration and include $5,000 for community center supplies." Another member seconded. The mayor called for those in favor to show hands. The transcript records the voice/hand vote but does not contain a roll-call tally; the meeting then moved to adjournment. Staff later restated that the $22,000 reduction would come from the general administration department in its entirety.

The meeting record includes several procedural and implementation clarifications made by staff: (1) budgetary control under state law is exercised at the department level rather than at individual line-item levels, (2) some overtime and position costs are charged to enterprise funds (water and sewer), and (3) previously incorporated changes (police phones, an adjustment to PD car-wash/service costs as recorded) remain part of the adopted package. The transcript lists the PD phones at $4,400; a PD car-wash line item appears in the record as "$19.20" which may be a transcription artifact and was discussed as a later, small adjustment captured after the initial budget release.

The council adjourned after the vote. The transcript does not record follow-up dates for implementation or a formal tally of the vote.