Bulloch County commissioners narrowly approved a $76.25 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget Thursday night after a lengthy and, often confusing, debate over spending priorities, property taxes, solid waste services, and staffing requests from the Sheriff’s Office. The final 4-3 vote came only after multiple competing motions failed and an eventual tie vote.
Previously Discussed Budget Highlights
Major changes can be found in this summary, but big ticket items include increases in overtime budgets for both the Sheriff’s Office and EMS ($1,076,459) and ‘non-personnel increases’ from the Sheriff’s Office totaling $1,052,639.
During budget discussions, county staff shared that the FY 2027 budget maintained a General Fund Contingency of $500,000 to be used on unpredicted needs as they occur and that the county did not anticipate having to use fund reserves to balance the budget. The county, however, was in the hole from the prior fiscal year due to using reserve funds for storm cleanup.
Previously, staff indicated no across-the-board or merit-based increases in the FY 2027 budget. According to county staff, the only pay adjustments included are for positions that are addressed in the pay plan implementation as a result of the Classification and Compensation Study. Staff also decided to eliminate a contract for grounds maintenance services and instead add 1 FT position in the Correctional Institute that will oversee an inmate crew tasked with these grounds maintenance services.
In total, the FY 2027 budget was presented as $4,162,664 more than FY 2026 budget.
Thursday’s Meeting
County CFO Kristi King reported that she would not be doing a lengthy presentation on the budget but that based on the changes after the previous budget hearing, the general budget changed by a little more than $1.5 million.
- The FY 2027 as previously presented totaled $76,250,107 but changes at the public hearing added:
- enough attendants to man all solid waste sites and keep them open (additional 10 attendants and 6 supervisors for 18 sites opened and manned)
- 6 new positions for Sheriff’s Office as requested by BCSO
- 1 FT Sheriff Sergeant, Patrol
- 1 FT Sheriff Corporal, SRO
- 1 FT Sheriff Deputy, SRO (hiring is contingent upon an agreement with Trinity Christian School to fund the position)
- 1 FT Sheriff Lieutenant, Court Services
- 1 FT Sheriff Dispatcher
- 1 FT Sheriff Lieutenant, Crime Suppression
- Changes totaled $1,549,629
- $115,000 would be expected in revenue for SRO reimbursements from the school system
- $1,435,000 would come from property taxes (0.34 mills)
- Total proposed budget for FY 2027 = $77,799,736
Commissioner Comments
Commissioner Nick Newkirk said he thought a million for manning the sites was too much money and the county could man the 10 busiest sites. He also expressed issue with:
- Adding 6 positions to the Sheriff’s Office
- Losses incurred from running the concession stands at the Rec department
- Merely breaking even from running concessions at Splash
He said on the campaign trail and since taking office, all he’s heard from citizens is a need to lower taxes. He said citizens have spoken loud and clear in the election cycles and it’s time for commissioners to stop listening to only staff and work for the citizens.
He said FLOST was sold as a dollar-for-dollar swap out. If the county gets $6 million in FLOST, it should be $6 million off. “It doesn’t mean we just raise the budget another $6-7 million.”
He closed by saying Bulloch doesn’t have a tax issue, but a spending issue.
Chairman Bennett asked Kristi King to explain the county’s reserve budget at the beginning of the year. She explained this year budgeted a $2.2 million deficit and the prior FY included a $3 million expenditure overage due to storm costs and delayed reimbursements.
Bennett said a previous administration balanced the budget by spending money from the reserve and he did not agree with the practice.
“I hear the calls for cuts but I can tell you nothing is getting cheaper around here, either,” Bennett said. “I also know that if we don’t pay back the reserve while dipping into it, we’re going to have continued financial problems. I agree with Mr. Newkirk that we shouldn’t be spending money that’s above the budget.”
He said staff was directed to come up with a budget neutral proposal for the trash sites and the pushback and concern from the public, which resulted in the pivot. “If we’re going to do things in the county to improve services, it’s going to cost money.”
Bennett also shared that he doesn’t like the budget cycle because the budget is decided first, and by July 1, but it isn’t until mid-June that commissioners know what the tax digest will look like.
Bennett then called for a motion.
Motions Made by Commissioners
Commissioner Newkirk made a motion to go back to the budget from FY 2026. He then rescinded his motion and made a new motion to reduce the manned trash sites from 18 to 10, scrap the 6 BCSO employees, and a 5% cut across the budget. The motion failed for lack of a second.
Commissioner Rushing said he didn’t go along with the attendees last time and if they want a motion, he’d make the same motion that got denied last time: a motion to give the sheriff his 6 positions but offer no funding for trash site management and leave them unmanned. The motion was seconded by Simmons. The vote was 3-3 with Simmons, Mosley, and Rushing voting for Rushing’s motion and Davis, Newkirk, and Conner opposing. Bennett broke the tie and voted AGAINST Rushing’s motion. The motion failed 3-4.
Commissioner Davis made a motion to ‘leave the trash as we approved it (18 stations, open every other day, manned) and remove the six officers approved in the last meeting.’ The motion failed for lack of a second.
Commissioner Conner made a motion to “do away with the trash, leave all trash centers open, and nobody gets anything,” essentially to revert to the budget initially proposed (and advertised) prior to the previous budget hearing. The motion failed for lack of a second.
Commissioner Newkirk made a motion for a 30-day spending resolution (based on the current budget) to allow commissioners to revisit the budget again and come to a consensus. “We got issues.”
CFO Kristi King said she didn’t know how to legally do that. County Attorney Jeff Akins was not present and attorney George Rountree was filling in. He said he was not prepared to answer that question.”I don’t know right off whether that’s appropriate or not. I’m sorry,” he told commissioners.
Commissioner Simmons offered comments to Chairman Bennett but most of what he said could not be heard as he did not speak into the microphone. “We’re here. We’re where we are. Ain’t no use in talking about spending budget. We gonna vote on that or leave it alone.”
Commissioner Mosley said commissioners need to have a budget balanced and move forward by July 1 and changes would require called meetings and would be ‘almost impossible.’ He then suggested Commissioner Conner put his motion on the floor again.
Conner said he would, and though Newkirk’s motion was still on the floor, Conner made a motion to go back to the budget as proposed by King before the budget hearings began and before the trash site employees and the sheriff’s office employees were added. $76,250,107. A second was made by Commissioner Mosley. Conner, and Simmons were in favor and Davis, Newkirk, and Rushing were opposed. Chairman Bennett broke the tie by voting in favor of Conner’s motion, effectively approving the budget in a 4-3 vote
CFO Kristi King asked if the budget was as presented at the last hearing with the reduction of trash sites from 18 to 10 so that they could be manned and alternate ‘open days.’
Commissioner Conner replied, “No ma’am, nothing for trash.”
King responded, “OK, well then that’s not the budget I presented last week because that budget included closing 10 centers.”
Conner said “No, we’re getting too much kickback for that right now. If we do that, we’re gonna have to take our time to do that.”
“Then OK, you’re, I guess you’re gonna have to, I don’t…I don’t have an amount, a cost thing to give you that proposal,” Kind said.
A commissioner then asked “Do we need to rescind that motion?”
Commissioner Rushing asked for county staff to clarify, prompting County Manager Chris Eldridge to tell commissioners “it [the proposal on trash] was a net zero” in cost. “So if the county attorney will allow you to clarify your motion in that manner, we’re still balanced, we’re still making it work just by continuing to operate the stations as they are.”
Attorney George Rountree said he “understood that to be the motion, the second, and the vote.”
Chairman Bennett stated he was clarifying that the motion was to approve the budget proposed by CFO Kristi King last week without the amendment for the sheriff’s office employees and without the trash site employees.
