Commission Chairman David Bennett opened the buget meeting by outlining the stakes behind the FY 2026 budget conversations, citing a $7.8 million projected deficit—roughly 10% of the county’s budget. He said he asked CFO Kristie King weeks earlier to prepare a version of the budget that reflected 10% in cuts, but after reviewing the results, he couldn’t support several of the implications.
“The majority of our budget goes to fund four essential functions—law enforcement, fire, EMS, and public works—and I am not comfortable with the idea of cutting any of those services and compromising the safety of the people of this county,” Bennett said.
He pointed to the planned expansion of EMS service in the Stilson area as a key example. “That station is badly needed. If you live out that way, you know how long it takes to get an ambulance to your house—22 minutes on average. And that’s an average. Some folks wait longer.”
Bennett cautioned against the narrative that budget cuts could be made painlessly. “People talk about cutting the fluff,” he said. “But I’m telling you, there ain’t a whole lot of fluff there.”
While reaffirming his long-held belief that property taxes should remain low—calling them “the most aggressive thing in the world”—Bennett said the county had to operate within reality. “That’s how we fund government right now,” he said.
He urged residents to stay engaged and solution-focused, not reactive. “Yelling and screaming, calling people crooks—it’s not going to make us any better,” he said. “We work for you, and we want what’s best for this county. But we need rational conversations, not pitchforks and torches.”
King Outlines Updated Budget Proposal and Options for Closing the Gap
Chief Financial Officer Kristie King presented commissioners with updated figures for the FY 2026 budget and a narrowed set of options for closing the multi-million-dollar shortfall. The county’s tentative budget now sits at $71,917,870—down from the $74.3 million figure presented during the April 29 work session, largely due to corrected health insurance calculations and the removal of several requested positions.
King explained that a software error had overstated the health insurance costs in the original proposal. With that issue resolved, the increase now reflects the expected $3 million in added health insurance costs discussed previously by the county’s benefits consultant. In addition, four proposed positions—one each for the Correctional Institute, Emergency Management, Engineering, and the Tax Commissioner’s office—have been removed.
Despite the reductions, the county is still facing a gap between revenue and expenditures. King walked commissioners through three millage rate scenarios and the corresponding financial implications:
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Full rollback to the state’s statutory rollback rate would result in an estimated revenue of $66.6 million—leaving the county $5.3 million short after accounting for contingency and one-time expenses such as equipment for new hires and various study costs.
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Quarter-mill rollback would produce a $3.4 million shortfall.
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No rollback, meaning the millage rate would stay at its current level, would leave a $2.4 million deficit.
In all three cases, King recommended using a portion of the county’s unassigned fund balance to close the gap, but she cautioned against drawing too heavily on reserves. “We have had a healthy fund balance, and I feel pretty confident that we would be okay using that number to balance the budget this year,” she said, referring to the lowest-cost option. “But the further we roll back, the deeper the cut into our reserves, and that’s a risk.”
King explained that one-time expenses and contingency funds, totaling roughly $890,000, are appropriate uses of fund balance, but covering ongoing operating expenses through fund balance is less ideal. She also stressed that “cutting” does not mean trimming travel budgets or office supplies. The departments where commissioners have expressed the most interest in growing—Public Works, EMS, the Sheriff’s Office, the Coroner, and Solid Waste—together account for nearly half the county’s budget, and cutting from those areas would directly impact services.
If commissioners attempted to close the $4.5 million shortfall required for a full rollback without using fund balance or raising taxes, King estimated the remaining departments would need to cut 41% of their non-personnel budgets—a move she said would not be operationally feasible. “These departments don’t have 41% to cut and still do the jobs they’re assigned to do,” she told the board.
King closed by reminding commissioners that while the county had a 33% fund balance at the end of FY 2024—well above the 25% best practice threshold—that cushion was quickly tapped for hurricane response. “If we hadn’t had that money available, we’d have had a cash flow crisis,” she said. “We’re growing, we’re trying to catch up—we don’t need to fall behind.”
House Bill 581 and the New Homestead Exemption Explained
Deputy Chief Appraiser Bobby Fisher addressed the commission to explain the impact of House Bill 581, which introduced a new floating homestead exemption aimed at protecting homeowners from sharp increases in assessed property values. Passed by Bulloch County voters in the last general election, the exemption locks in the taxable value of a homesteaded property at the prior year’s amount—regardless of rising market conditions—unless significant physical changes are made to the property.
“In a rising real estate market, a homesteaded property owner is not going to feel the brunt of those assessments,” Fisher said. “If your home went from $100,000 to $110,000 in fair market value, you would receive a $10,000 exemption to offset that increase, and your tax bill would remain the same.”
The exemption applies automatically to existing homesteaded properties and can still be claimed for the current year during the 45-day appeal window following assessment notices. Fisher said that as of May 3, approximately 9,500 of the estimated 12,000 to 13,000 eligible properties had already claimed the exemption.
Fisher contrasted the impact of HB 581 with the state’s rollback rate formula, which only accounts for inflationary growth and has historically served to counteract backdoor tax increases caused by rising property assessments. “The rollback helps, but it’s a blunt tool,” he said. “HB 581 directly stabilizes tax bills for homesteaded property owners, regardless of whether the millage rate is rolled back.”
Commissioner Timmy Rushing asked Fisher to clarify the root cause of previous property tax increases. “People blamed the commission for a 30% increase when we only raised the millage rate by 1.5 mills,” Rushing said. “That increase came from rising property values, which you all are mandated by the state to assess based on actual sales, not by us.”
Fisher confirmed that his office is required by law to assess real estate at its current fair market value, determined by comparable property sales. “We don’t do this to raise revenue,” he said. “If we fail to maintain compliance, the county risks penalties, and public utilities could end up paying less than their fair share.”
Fisher also explained that while the exemption shields homeowners, it does not apply to commercial, rental, or agricultural properties—meaning those property owners will still see the effects of rising assessments. Additionally, he noted that the county is one of only a few in Georgia that does not receive a local option sales tax (LOST) for general operations. That could change if the second piece of House Bill 581—an additional 1% sales tax to offset property taxes—is enacted.
Chairman Bennett emphasized the importance of that option. “A one-penny sales tax generated $19 million last year,” he said. “If we can direct that into the general fund, it offsets the need for higher property taxes. This is a structural fix—not just a short-term patch.”
Fisher closed by noting that keeping the current millage rate in place will not result in a tax increase for homesteaded property owners under HB 581. “They will be taxed on last year’s value,” he said. “It’s stable and predictable—something we haven’t had in recent years.”
Public Works Director Details Impact of Cuts Amid Staffing and Infrastructure Strain
Public Works Director Dink Butler took the floor to outline how a 10% budget reduction would affect his departments, which include airport operations, fleet management, solid waste, and transportation. While the airport is self-sustaining and fleet savings are currently being realized due to vacancies, Butler said the proposed cuts to transportation and solid waste would significantly reduce services countywide.
Transportation, with a proposed FY26 budget of $4.5 million, would see a $450,000 reduction under a 10% cut scenario. Butler said this would eliminate all overtime, part-time help, and a portion of fuel and maintenance funding. The result, he warned, would be extended service intervals: grading routes would increase from six to eight weeks up to 90 days, and ditching rotation would go from one to 1.5 years to potentially two or more.
“We’re already short-staffed—we’ve got 16 full-time vacancies as of this morning, four employees on extended medical leave, and one on light duty,” Butler told commissioners. “If we cut overtime and lose more employees because of it, we’re just chasing a moving target.”
Chairman Bennett asked Butler to clarify where the bulk of his overtime costs came from. Butler explained that most of it stemmed from covering for staff shortages and responding to weather emergencies. “We’re planning to run this weekend just to catch up on road maintenance after recent rains,” he added. “People are already frustrated, we get complaints daily—and if we cut services any further, that’s only going to escalate.”
Butler noted that even with current levels of overtime and weekend work, roads are suffering from continued washouts due to heavy rainfall and the destruction of pond dams throughout the county. “We’ve still got dirt roads closed from the last storm,” he said.
Solid waste services are also strained. The department is seeing a projected 25% year-over-year increase in waste volume, already up 12% with a quarter of the year remaining. Under a 10% cut, solid waste would lose $340,000, including two full-time positions, two part-time staff, and $150,000 in overtime.
“We’re currently running six days a week, and even then, the centers overflow if we skip a day,” Butler said. “If we go to five days or less, it becomes an environmental issue.” He added that the county relies on the City of Statesboro’s transfer station to process waste, which already resists Saturday afternoon and Sunday operations.
Rushing and other commissioners echoed their concern, citing personal experience with overflowing collection sites and damaged roads. “Dink can’t fix the roads if he doesn’t have the people or the funds,” Rushing said, reiterating his belief that rolling back the millage rate would only force deeper service cuts at a time when the county’s infrastructure needs are growing.
“We’re not just falling behind—we’re sliding backward,” Butler said. “Getting back to full staff will take time. And until we do, we’re going to keep chasing problems we can’t catch.”
Recreation Director Warns of Program Cuts, Economic Fallout Under 10% Budget Reduction
Recreation Director Dee Cosby delivered a candid and detailed breakdown of how a 10% budget cut would affect the county’s recreation services, noting that his department already submitted a conservative FY26 budget with only a $100,000 increase over the previous year. That increase, he said, was strictly to cover utility costs—gas, sewer, water, electricity—and stormwater runoff fees.
“We didn’t ask for new people. We didn’t ask for new programming. We asked for help covering the things we know are going up,” Cosby said. “But now we’re being asked to cut from last year’s funding level, not from a wishlist.”
Cosby said reaching a 10% cut—approximately $800,000—would fundamentally alter the Recreation Department’s ability to serve the community. He laid out a sequence of potential service eliminations:
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Landscaping and grounds maintenance for all county departments and facilities would end, including upkeep of roundabouts and the I-16/301 overpass.
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Community events such as the county’s Fourth of July celebration, Trick or Treat at Mill Creek, the Ag Expo, and the employee appreciation dinner would be canceled.
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Youth athletics programs would be significantly reduced. Cosby said one entire sport—likely football—would need to be cut. “We’d be choosing between football, basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer. That’s not a position I ever want to be in,” he said.
Cosby shared data from the past fiscal year showing the department provided more than $13,000 in fee waivers for families who couldn’t afford registration. Football alone saw 170 waivers for a total of $7,670. The standard registration fee is $65, but if the county shifted to full cost recovery, that fee would need to rise to $215 for tackle football and $150 for flag football—an increase Cosby said would price out many working families.
“We’re one of the few counties in Georgia that offers both fall and spring soccer,” he added. “We’d have to eliminate the spring season entirely, which served 400 kids this year.”
Cosby also addressed tournament rentals at Mill Creek, noting that Bulloch County charges $200 per field—the same rate as LakePoint in metro Atlanta, one of the nation’s premier baseball complexes. While raising tournament fees is an option, Cosby warned it may affect long-term partnerships and reduce the county’s economic impact.
“People don’t come to Bulloch County to look at roads—they come here to play ball, visit Splash in the Boro, and attend events at the Ag Arena,” Cosby said. “We bring people here. And when you take away these services, you’re not just cutting recreation—you’re cutting into economic development.”
Even after slashing programming and special events, Cosby said he’d still fall hundreds of thousands of dollars short of a 10% reduction. The only remaining option would be to eliminate four full-time staff positions.
The last program left untouched, he said, would be childcare. “If I cut that, I’ll be in purgatory,” he joked. “But if it comes down to it, even that may be on the table.”
Commissioner Toby Conner recounted a phone call with Cosby that reminded him of how intertwined the county’s departments are.
“2008, back then we were called Statesboro–Bulloch County Parks and Recreation. And Splash in the Boro, we lended money to start the first ever fire department here in Bulloch County. It was in the paper. The first part was $300,000… What it was called was an inter-fund loan to purchase a fire truck. I know I’ve talked with Toby and I’ve talked with Commissioner Simmons… Commissioner Simmons remembers it vividly… That loan has yet to be paid back to Bulloch County Recreation Parks.”
“A lot of people want to complain about Splash. I’m not closing Splash. I’m not selling Splash. Splash is going nowhere… But if we had that money in that enterprise account—the stuff that we paid for, the interest, the principal, and then also the depreciation part—it’ll be in that account… it would stay in the black if we were able to get that money back into our county.”
“We have departments—everything is broke up in this county—but really and truly, it’s all one big team… Somebody has a little more, they always willing to go help the ones that don’t have what they need.” said Commissioner Conner.
As the lengthy work session drew to a close, Chairman Bennett emphasized that no votes were taken and no decisions finalized during Thursday’s meeting. The session was strictly informational.
CFO Kristie King will present a line-item tentative budget at next week’s commission meeting on Tuesday, May 20. If the board proceeds with the current plan of maintaining the FY25 millage rate—rather than rolling it back to the statutory level—state law will require the county to advertise the decision as a tax increase and hold public hearings before final adoption.
Bennett reiterated his appeal to department leaders: “Go back one more time. If there’s anything you can cut, reduce, or put off for another year—let us know. But absent that, we have some very hard choices to make.”
Timmy Rushing, Kristie King and Randy Tillman spoke in favor of maintaining the current millage rate and using a portion of the county’s fund balance to bridge the gap in revenue. While Rushing said the move would “buy time” and give the county another year to plan for long-term solutions, he cautioned that continued growth and inflation will require future action—especially if the county doesn’t secure new revenue from a proposed 1% sales tax under House Bill 581.
Commissioners plan to finalize and adopt the FY26 budget before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1. The millage rate, however, will not be formally set until later this summer, after tax digest numbers are finalized and public hearings are held.
