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Cusseta–Chattahoochee commissioners approve budget amendments as hearings highlight roughly $740,000 shortfall
Summary
Commissioners approved a package of budget amendments on April 1 and held public hearings in April that left a proposed budget with an estimated $740,000 deficit; officials discussed using SPLOST for capital needs, a proposed $2 monthly trash-rate increase and the possibility of raising the millage rate to close the gap.
The Board of Commissioners of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County approved a set of budget amendments at its April 1 regular meeting and spent subsequent public hearings in April confronting a roughly $740,000 shortfall in the proposed budget.
County Manager Thomas Weaver told commissioners during the April 1 public hearing that “we are starting at a $740,000.00 deficit and we need to get it down to be balanced.” Commissioners voted unanimously on April 1 to adopt the consent items listed on the agenda, including budget amendments recorded in the minutes as a single motion described there as totaling $294,725.
Why it matters: the board’s minutes and exhibits list multiple line‑item transfers for FY2024 that would move funds from reserve accounts into operating and salary lines for areas including EMS, the coroner, legal expenses and boarding prisoners. The minutes contain detailed resolution texts that cite O.C.G.A. § 36‑81‑3(d)(1), but the itemized resolution amounts printed elsewhere in the minutes (for example, transfers labeled for EMS salaries, legal expense, sheriff boarding, coroner and property tax reimbursement) do not arithmetically match the separate “Total Amendment: $294,725” figure shown in the minutes exhibit. The minutes record the board’s action as approved; the discrepancy between individual transfer lines and the single summary total is noted in the minutes and requires administrative clarification.
What the board approved and discussed: the April 1 agenda recorded these formal actions (all listed in the minutes as approved): - Approval of minutes from the March 4, 2025 regular meeting (motion: Commissioner Hoyte; second: Commissioner Frost; unanimous vote). - Adoption of a National Donate Life Month proclamation (motion: Commissioner Frost; second: Commissioner Biddle; unanimous vote). - Approval of a tax‑refund item for a parcel associated with Tracy/Chiodo (the minutes record a refund and the assessor’s letter documents a corrected valuation; amounts in the minutes and assessor letter vary and are recorded under clarifying details). - A motion recorded on April 1 approving budget amendments as listed in the minutes (recorded total $294,725; see clarification above). The minutes also include separate written resolutions amending FY2024 appropriations for property‑tax reimbursement, coroner salary, general‑administrative legal expense, EMS salaries and sheriff boarding costs (resolution texts appear in the meeting packet and are recorded as adopted). See actions[] for structured details.
Other budget‑related points raised during April hearings and work sessions: - Weaver said ambulance operations have generated more than $130,000 in revenue since the service began but are “not self‑sustaining.” - The county manager and commissioners discussed moving some capital requests to SPLOST and suggested limited capital items (vehicles, equipment) could be funded there. - Officials discussed a proposed $2 monthly increase to the county garbage rate (from $20 to $22) to help cover rising solid‑waste costs. - Commissioners and the county manager discussed HB581 and possible future sales‑tax proceeds as a longer‑term revenue source; Weaver noted any sales‑tax proceeds would not be realized for about a year and could not immediately close the current deficit. - Commissioner Jason Frost and others urged the board to consider a mileage‑rate review; Weaver said a modest change would not cover the shortfall and that closing the gap would require a larger increase.
Quotes: Chairman Charles Coffey and others framed the problem as difficult tradeoffs. Coffey told the clerk and county manager he would be willing to forgo his own salary “for the next four years” if constitutional officers agreed to similar reductions — an offer he cast as symbolic of the difficult choices ahead. Weaver said departments were instructed to prepare itemized lists for miscellaneous line items and that some capital requests could be covered via SPLOST.
Next steps: commissioners asked staff to produce recommended cuts and a millage‑rate analysis for an upcoming meeting and to clarify the apparent arithmetic discrepancy between the itemized resolution amounts and the single amendment total recorded in the minutes. The minutes show the board will continue budget deliberations through May; no final adoption of a property‑tax millage rate is recorded in the April minutes.
Ending: The board recorded the April 1 votes as unanimous on the agenda items shown; the budget hearings and work sessions through April 28 focused on narrowing the deficit and identifying revenue or spending changes needed to balance the FY2024/FY2025 budgets.
