Wednesday, January 10, 2024–12:06 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
No one spoke Tuesday during the first public hearing regarding Floyd County’s proposed 2024 budget.
The balanced budget requires $38.9 million in property taxes.
If projections continue, the county will enter 2024 with a $5.8 million fund balance.
Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord told commissioners that they will need to focus more on the fund balance.
“We have struggled to maintain our fund balance,” he said. “In previous years, due to vacancies, we have been able to have a big swing in what we had budgeted as use of fund balance or movement into the positive, which has not been the case in the last two years.”
General fund transfers to other funds represent a $1.9 million increase in the 2024 budget.
“The transfer of the Forum River Center decreased expenditures by $441,000 but we’ve added the agriculture center at $117,700 for 2024,” McCord said. “That will increase as we go forward into operations with that facility,” McCord said. “The animal control transfer increased by $140,000 at $1.49 million.”
The county is also freezing 30 positions for 2024.
“The sheriff’s office eliminated one position,” McCord said. “The county police added two positions but also eliminated two positions. The two positions they added are being funded with the RedSpeed camera revenue. There will also be school resource officers added to the school system. Facilities management eliminated two positions, engineering eliminated one, and a deputy warden position at the prison was not funded for 2024. Cooperative extension eliminated one position and transferred one position from county pay to state pay. The tax commissioner’s office eliminated one position and the court clerk’s office eliminated two.”
The second public hearing and adoption of the budget will take place during the county commission’s January 23 meeting.
