Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny used Tuesday morning’s City Council meeting to offer an explanation of how the city arrived at its position on data centers, what city staff has learned over the last year, and what officials believe such a development could mean financially for Statesboro.
The presentation came two weeks after a contentious council meeting over the rezoning of 26 acres on Burkhalter Road, where the possibility of a future data center generated considerably public backlash.
Penny said he received a number of questions after the last meeting about the background and the process, leading him to prepare his presentation.
“Data centers have taken center stage in our country, county, and city,” Penny said. “Citizens have a right to be concerned with anything that they feel may impact their community, their homes, their health, and their children’s health. We recognize and acknowledge their concerns. We can’t just dismiss those concerns, we have to embrace those concerns.”
“Our mission is to help educate the public about data centers,” he added.
Penny said that Tuesday’s presentation was not a recommendation that the mayor and council approve a data center.
“We started this journey in June 2025. Since that time, we’ve learned a lot about data centers,” Penny said.
“In this conversation, there’s been a lot of shouting and not a lot of hearing,” Penny said. “It doesn’t mean we’ll change minds, but we need to hear what the pros and cons are so we can make informed decisions about our community and our quality of life going forward.”
Research by Staff, Council
“The city has spent a considerable amount of time reading and learning about data centers,” Penny said. “We have read articles, watched webinars, and we have visited facilities in Social Circle and Alpharetta, Georgia. We continue even today to read every new article or white paper on the topic.”
In September 2025, Statesboro and Bulloch County officials were invited to meet with Development Authority of Bulloch County staff to discuss data centers. He said the meeting was not the result of the city recruiting a data center.
On October 21, 2025, Statesboro Planning and Development Director Justin Williams presented a report on data centers during a City Council work session. Council subsequently directed staff to organize visits to existing facilities.
That research ultimately took city staff, the mayor, and council members to data center facilities in Social Circle and Alpharetta in January 2026, with assistance from the Development Authority.
Simultaneously, Penny said Statesboro was dealing with a surge in residential development. He said the city began seeing an “explosion” of interest in housing developments three years ago, coinciding with the May 2022 announcement of Hyundai’s Bryan County manufacturing facility and changes to the city’s and Bulloch County’s subdivision ordinance.
Statesboro has since approved more than 6,000 new housing units, including single-family homes, multifamily developments, townhomes, and cottage courts. Penny said approximately half of those approved units have gone vertical, with the remainder expected to be developed over roughly the next decade. A significant amount of that proposed housing has been concentrated along the Burkhalter Road corridor.
In the fall of 2025, the owner of the 26 acres on Burkhalter Road approached city staff about considering an alternative use for the property because of concerns about a potential surplus of housing units. At the same time, Planning & DEvelopment Director Justin Williams was drafting an ordinance specifically regulating data centers.
After the city’s research and visits to existing facilities, Penny said Williams felt comfortable recommending Office/Business zoning for the 26-acre Burkhalter Road property.
Rezoning vs. Approval of a Data Center
Penny also sought to clarify what the council’s recent vote did and did not do.
He said the city does not independently initiate the rezoning of property unless the city annexes property. In the Burkhalter Road property, the property owner petition for a zoning change from R-4 residential zoning to Office/Business zoning.
Penny then stated that Office/Business zoning can be compatible with residential development and can serve as a buffer between residential areas and more intensive uses.
He pointed to projected growth and changes to Burkhalter Road itself. The road is currently two lanes and carries approximately 5,270 vehicles per day. Penny said city officials expect it to become a four- or five-lane roadway within the next three to five years to accommodate increasing traffic.
Most notably, Penny told council members that he does not agree that data centers belong in industrial districts. He pointed to facilities city officials toured in Alpharetta, where data centers are located near hotels and residential developments.
Still, a data center has not yet been approved. If an end user seeks to develop one on the property, Penny said city staff would conduct an analysis once an application is submitted. A special use permit application would then go before the Statesboro Planning Commission, which would make a recommendation to City Council.
The Statesboro City Council would ultimately make the final decision.
The Financial Argument
A substantial portion of Penny’s presentation focused on what a data center could mean for Statesboro’s revenue coffers.
He said such a project would represent new private investment and generate additional tax revenue for the city.
“As city manager, I am charged with managing the city’s finances and identifying new revenue sources to continue to grow the city and our services,” Penny said.
A data center would also generate construction jobs, though the number of permanent positions would be comparatively small. Penny estimated a completed facility could employ approximately nine to 12 full-time workers.That small workforce, he said, is also part of the financial equation.
Penny focused on what he referred to as a minimal impact on the community, which he said was different from a large residential development or business bringing hundreds of workers and their families into a community. Penny said a data center would place comparatively little demand on city services and the school system because of its limited number of permanent employees.
Penny also cited the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which has identified data center development as an economic driver affecting construction, manufacturing, transportation, and labor markets.
Fiscal Study Projects Millions in New Revenue
Penny said a LOCI fiscal impact analysis was completed before City Council approved its data center ordinance in May, but city staff intentionally did not provide the analysis to council members before their vote.
“We did not share that with you because we didn’t want you to use that when voting on the ordinance,” Penny said.
According to figures Penny presented Tuesday, the analysis projects a data center could generate approximately $21.8 million in additional revenue for the City of Statesboro over 10 years, with a net fiscal impact of approximately $16.9 million.
For Bulloch County, the analysis projected approximately $28.85 million in additional revenue, with a net impact of approximately $22.3 million.
The Bulloch County Board of Education was projected to receive approximately $26.3 million in additional revenue, with a net impact of approximately $20.4 million.
The analysis also projected comparatively little additional government spending attributable to the project.
New expenses for the City of Statesboro were estimated at approximately $35,000 over 10 years, while new expenses for Bulloch County were projected at approximately $139,000 over the same period.
Those calculations, Penny said, do not include potential utility franchise fee revenue.
He estimated those fees could generate another $1 million annually for the City of Statesboro, all of which would flow into the city’s general fund.
The potential financial impact, he said, is enough to warrant the city’s continued consideration of a data center should a developer ultimately seek to build one in Statesboro.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that we would recommend to the mayor and council that they approve a data center…It’s a positive. It’s possibly a positive,” Penny continued. “I wanted to share this so the public understands what the benefit might be.”
Cons of A Data Center
“My interest is to make sure that council, that we have all the relevant information,” Penny said, noting that the discussion must also look at what the negatives and cons might be.
He did not, however, include any in his presentation.
“City staff, and I am confident that I can say this on behalf of the mayor and council, would never recommend or approve anything for our city that would be detrimental to our community and our quality of life,” Penny said.
“The city may never have the opportunity to host a data center. However, it is important for our mayor and council and citizens to be able to make informed decisions.”
McCollar Pushes Back on Allegations
Mayor McCollar said misinformation has permeated the community and is among the most dangerous things about this..
He said the misinformation has called into question the character of people on council.
“There is no end user. There is no entity that’s out there that’s planning to come. That needs to be clear. When we said it was only a rezoning, that’s exactly what it was. It was only a rezoning. There is no end user. If there’s no end user, there’s no kickbacks. There is no corruption. There’s no lack of transparency. We’ve done all of the things. We’re not like another community that’s done things in the dark. We’ve been very upfront, very transparent.,” McCollar said.
He added that it “saddens him” that some people in the community are using the conversation as a political tool.
“These folks up here have been telling you the truth since Day 1. It was a hard a true, but it was the truth,” McCollar said.
