FY 2022 SPALDING COUNTY BUDGET MESSAGE FROM CO MANAGER WILLIAM WILSON JR.

County Manager William Wilson advised that he had forwarded the Budget Message and Revenue and Expense Summaries. The Budget does include a 2% Cost of Living and does not include a tax increase. 

It has some large expenditures in this budget that are needed at the Courthouse. The Courthouse elevators, the main two elevators in the back that you walk through to the Clerk of Court’s Office are 35-36 years old and they are in need of updating and modernizing. We can’t get parts for them anymore. That is a $370,000 expense built into this budget with more elevator updates in future budgets because in the courthouse there are 4 elevators, there is one in this building, there is one in the old post office which is older than any of the other’s and is still going and it is going to have to be replaced. The others can be modernized and put new control panels in. 

Also, next year, we must update our Comprehensive Plan, this is also in the Budget, 50% for this year and 50% for the next fiscal year. That is $125,000 per year. 

There are four full time positions recommended, one in the Board of Elections, a technician is being requested for the Voting Machines, in the Solicitors Office an Office Assistant, in Leisure Services a Center Supervisor/Curator for the Rosenwald Building and in Community Development a Senior Planner. There is one part time position that the Board had approved earlier this year for Probate Court. There were requests from a number of other departments for new positions, but those were not recommended. 

The Library, Land Bank Authority, DFCS, Veterans Services, Personal Growth Center, Health Department are all recommended at last year’s funding levels. Last year Mr. Wilson had recommended funding the Development Authority at 100% and the Board cut that back to 75%. We intimated that the Board would give them 100% this year, so that is in there. 

The total budget for FY 2021 was $90 million, the total budget for FY 2022 is $95 million. The largest increases are in the 2016 Capital Projects Fund because that is where we have most of the money coming in for Pay As You Go Projects. You will also see that we will be making the second payment on the SPLOST Bonds. 

Mr. Wilson stated that the General Fund increased a little less than $1.5 million. The salaries and benefits portion of this is about $800,000 so that leaves about $700,000 for increases. With the $400,000 for the elevators and $125,000 for the Comprehensive Plan which adds up to $525,000, so we are only about $175,000 as an operational increase in the General Fund. Mr. Wilson then stated that he had invited Miller Edwards to come and speak to the Board. Mr. Edwards is the Auditor in charge of Spalding County Audits and Commissioner Dutton wanted to talk about the Pension Fund and that is why he is here. 

The following Agenda Items were discussed over the two-day period and changes are made to the indicated budget line items. 2. Review of recommended General Fund Revenues 3. Review of recommended Executive Department Budget (Dept. 1300)