The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved the mid-year FY 2020 budget adjustment on Tuesday night. The board approved additional funds for Henry County DOT as part of the adjustment.
The mid-year adjustment was presented to the board by county staff to reflect revenue increases and unbudgeted expenditures the county had occurred during the first six months of the fiscal year, from July 1, 2019 to December 31. The overall county budget was increased from $163.7 million to $168.2 million.
The amended general fund budget includes $107,908,112, or 64.2%, for public safety and courts.
The additional $4.5 million in revenues is generated through an increase in sales tax collections ($1.5 million), an increase in insurance premiums ($1.1 million), an additional $723,394 in ambulance service fees, and smaller line items less than $500,000 each.
Adjusted expenditures include the following increases:
- Cyber incident costs $663k and other computer maintenance contracts $645k
- Increased property & liability claims (risk management) $1.3m
- Additional poll workers during elections $175k
- Increased budget for road resurfacing and striping $532k
- Police Department employees $264k
- Boys & Girls Club payment, Nash Farm ice skating rink, and water shortage (parks and recreation) $319k
The $532k for DOT can be further broken down to include $392,835 for right of way general supplies (asphalt and other road materials) and $139,590 for signs and striping. The DOT right of way budget was increased from $6,089,856 to $6,627,919, or an 8.8% increase. This does not include the DOT admin budget, a separate line item.
County manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews noted during her comments that DOT work crews are working throughout the week and on weekends, as weather permits, to repair roads throughout the county, but the steady rain in recent weeks has taken its toll on local roadways. Residents are encouraged to report potholes via SeeClickFix, available online or as a mobile app, so that county staff can make the necessary repairs.
Henry County receives annual grant funding from Georgia DOT to assist in resurfacing roads. Find out what roads will be resurfaced in 2020.
A motion to approve the budget adjustment was made by Commissioner Wilson and seconded by Chair Wood. The motion passed 5-0 (Barham absent).
