Cherokee County presents draft 2025 budget with modest growth, planned hires and SPLOST-backed capital projects

County staff presented the 2025 draft budget to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, showing a modest increase in total expenditures and several targeted additions to personnel and capital spending. "This 1st chart shows the countywide expenditures by fund type," the budget presenter said, outlining a $22 million increase in operating funds, a $7 million decrease in capital funds tied to SPLOST timing, and a roughly $15 million net increase countywide compared with the 2024 budget.

The presentation highlighted that personnel accounts for about 54% of county expenditures and that the General Fund would include a 4% cost-of-living adjustment (about $3.3 million). Staff showed budgeted new positions across funds — including seven positions in the General Fund and 21 positions for Fire & EMS — and projected an ending General Fund balance near $61.3 million, roughly 4.8 months of expenditures. The presenter said countywide revenue is expected to increase by about $15 million from 2024 to 2025, largely driven by property-tax growth, and reminded commissioners that the budget book and slides are available online and at the clerk’s office.

The budget timeline was set out at the close of the presentation: a public hearing and an annual budget presentation on September 17 and formal budget adoption scheduled for October 1. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about fund classification for the Marshal’s Office and 911, and staff confirmed that 911 is budgeted in a separate fund while the Marshal’s office sits in the General Fund.