The Hall County Board of Commissioners voted in unanimous approval of the FY 2024 budget alongside a millage rollback rate. The millage rate in 2022 sat at 4.141, while the 2023 rate has been fully rolled back to 3.440.
The county-wide budget came in at $410.9 million, which presents an 8.15% increase over FY 2023. $97.6 million of that figure will go to capital improvements, with the remaining $313.2 million being allocated as operating funds.
Capital improvement projects for FY 2025 to 2029 were proposed to be $611.4 million.
FY 2024 kicks off July 1 and will come to a close on June 30, 2024.
EDITOR'S NOTE: More details and corrections on the aforementioned FY 2024 budget have been provided for clarity.
Original story published June 8 at 8:54 p.m.:
The Hall County Board of Commissioners Thursday evening was presented the proposed FY 2024 budget, with significant funding for public safety and the judicial system.
During the regularly scheduled Hall County Board of Commissioners voting session Thursday, commissioners heard from county officials regarding the newly proposed fiscal year 2024 budget, which is expected to be fully adopted later this month. The budget is said to support the long-term goals of the county while reflecting conservative financial management, according to officials.
The total proposed budget is slated to be $410.9 million, which is an 8.15% increase from the previous year’s budget. That budget will include a general fund, as well as enterprise, grants, special revenue and capital funds.
The general fund is listed at $135.3 million, a 5.35% increase from FY 2023. Embedded in the general fund is capital for law enforcement, public safety, judicial systems, libraries and general government operations.
On the county’s capital expenditures front, $118.6 million is anticipated to be spent on 30 miles of road resurfacing, equipment and vehicles, construction renovations, the new Fire Station 17 location, the health department and sewer system improvements.
The biggest anticipated expenditure for the county lies in public safety, at 45.18%. The second most is general government expenses, at 27.25%, and then judicial system expenditures, at 21.70%. The lowest expenditure category is predicted to be housing and development, at 1.59%.
Hall County Financial Director Wes Geddings said the public safety aspect of the expenditures is important for citizen health, as safety remains a “very dynamic operation.”
“Continued operation of the sheriff's office and the fire department, the implementation of special incentive pays for some of those teams, as well as a patrol incentive for the deputies, for them to implement as the sheriff sees fit,” Geddings said in regard to public safety expenditure specifics.
SPLOST VIII is entering its fourth year of collection, having been approved by Hall County voters in November 2019. Those tax proceeds are set to contribute to road infrastructure, parks, trails and other “special construction projects.” The SPLOST VIII program is predicted to rake in just under $64.5 million in FY 2024, which is a 22.18% increase from FY 2023.
Several noteworthy items on the proposed FY 2024 budget include:
- Fire services fund: $42 million, up 17.07% from FY 2023
- Parks and marina fund: $1.792 million, up 114.15% from FY 2023
- American rescue plan fund: $13.417 million, up 21.96% from FY 2023
- Restricted funds: $4.098 million, down 22.30% from FY 2023
- Fleet maintenance fund: $1.860 million, down 15.38% from FY 2023
- Total operating funds for FY 2024: $313 million, up 7.91% from FY2023
In response to the reason behind such a steep climb in parks and marina funding, Geddings said several existing parks previously operated by the Army Corps of Engineers will come into Hall County governance.
“The Army Corps of Engineers gave us the opportunity to operate some of their parks,” Geddings said. “And so we analyzed it, took a look at it, and we've proposed to bring online the operation of three of the Army Corps of Engineer parks.”
Additionally, as Fire Station 17 begins construction, a new fire boat is slated to be added to the Hall County Fire Rescue fleet.
“We have $730 million in our capital improvement plan, and this was the year that the fire boat came to fruition, it has a long lead time to manufacture that boat and get it here on the lake,” Geddings said. “This [Lake Lanier] is the largest manmade lake on the East Coast. There are so many residents and so many homes on there that need fire protection.”
The new boat is said to have the ability to fight fires from the water, using various hoses and technology to direct water from the lake onto flames, according to officials.
General fund millage rates for the county sit at 3.440. That millage rate varies slightly for the fire services fund, with a rate of 2.65 for unincorporated fire service funds and 4.08 for incorporated. The emergency services millage rate is 0.571, while the development and services fund rate sits at 1.005. The parks and leisure millage rate came in at 0.364.
Hall County tax dollars are broken down into six categories. Based on FY 2024 predictions, 66.57% of every dollar will go toward the Hall County School System. 14.32% will go toward the general fund, 11.03% for the fire services fund, 2.38% for emergency services, 4.18% for development services and 1.52% to parks and leisure services.
The fiscal year 2024 budget and the 2023 millage rates are set to be adopted by the Hall County Board of Commissioners at their meeting on June 21 at 6 p.m. in the Hall County Government Center. County Administrator Zach Propes noted at the end of Thursday’s meeting that the next meeting will take place on a Wednesday, rather than the typical Thursday session.
