Troup County budget preview: $68M revenue estimate, tentative raises and new tax‑law uncertainty

Sonya Conroy, the county budget lead, told commissioners the preliminary budget shows about $68,000,000 in revenues and roughly $67.55 million in expenses, leaving about $700,000 for requests. "Right now before we reevaluate the revenues again, a $68,000,000 budget," Conroy said, and staff included a proposal that covers a 5% employee raise for half a year (effectively a 2.5% annual cost in their estimate).

County finance and tax staff discussed recent state proposals that would freeze homestead assessments and create a local-option 1¢ sales tax (LHOST) to replace lost revenue. Dan Smith (tax staff) said the county calculated that to exempt all homestead properties the LHOST would need to cover roughly 47% of the additional cent. "It would take roughly 47% of a dollar over over a penny," Smith said, explaining that the county has modeled different scenarios and will wait for the governor's signature and implementing regulations before finalizing estimates.

Conroy told the board department and agency requests totaled about $2 million — roughly $1.5 million for new positions and $480,000 for outside agencies — and that staff aim to bring a finalized package back to the board with a goal to adopt at the June 16 meeting if advertising and timelines allow. The board scheduled departmental presentations for May 5 to hear detailed requests from agency heads, including the district attorney and public defender.