County manager warns of roughly $740,000 gap; commissioners consider property-tax options

County Manager Thomas Weaver told the commission at the April 1 public hearing that the proposed budget begins with "about $740,000.00" in deficit and that the county will need to balance needs and wants across departments. "We are starting at a $740,000.00 deficit," Weaver said as he walked the commission through revenue and expenditure assumptions.

Weaver and commissioners noted some revenue offsets: stronger-than-expected SPLOST receipts and more than $130,000 in ambulance revenue since the county began EMS billing. But commissioners said those sources are not enough to close the structural gap immediately. "If the money isn't there the county cannot fund it," Chairman Charles Coffey said, framing the trade-offs between raising the millage rate and preserving services. Commissioner Jason Frost urged staff to prepare a mileage-rate model, noting a rough rule of thumb cited in the hearings that one mill produces about $50,000–$60,000 in revenue for the county.

Discussion at follow-up budget hearings emphasized timing and uncertainty: HB581 and any SPLOST increase would take time (at least a year) to affect revenues, while operating costs—particularly employee health insurance and EMS salaries—are immediate. Commissioners instructed staff to return to the next meeting with options for cuts, proposed millage-rate changes and their fiscal impact.