Fulton County commissioners got their first formal look at the proposed 2024 budget Wednesday, but are not much closer to endorsing a final version. Commissioners must approve a budget in January.
The budget proposal is for $1.34 billion altogether, including a $917 million General Fund. The budget’s emphasis is on maintaining current service levels, but not expanding, County Manager Dick Anderson said.
Commissioners kept the millage rate the same, but General Fund revenue is expected to increase by $17 million, Anderson said. But with inflation at 4%, there’s actually a $13 million gap in legally required spending.
Last year’s budget had “some margin” built in to pay for items that arose, he said.
“This year there is not that margin for error,” Anderson said.
Revenue will fall $38 million short of covering the $917 million General Fund spending, Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore said. The rest will come from the county’s fund balance, leaving $153 million in reserve funds.
The proposed budget will fund all currently occupied county jobs and have “partial funding” for vacant jobs, but won’t allow creation of any new ones, Whitmore said.
It includes $10 million toward planning a new Fulton County jail, a 5% cost-of-living raise for all county employees, the same base funding for community services programs and contracts as in 2023, Whitmore said.
The budget includes $35 million for four elections next year.
During public comments, several people — some representing specific arts groups — pleaded with commissioners not to cut arts funding.
Anderson said he has talked to several commissioners about their individual funding requests, and some can likely be funded by cost underruns from the 2023 budget or in a mid-year review of unspent funds.
Several commissioners urged asking Atlanta for a discount on the space Fulton County leases to hold prisoners in the former Atlanta City Detention Center. The county contracts to hold up to 700 inmates there but the sheriff’s office says staffing shortages prevent more than about 450 inmates from being there at a time.
Commissioner Dana Barrett took issue with the report’s length, organization and level of detail. She said specific vendors shouldn’t be identified in a budget summary, singling out the firm Sheriff Patrick Labat has contracted with for health- and location-monitoring wristbands for jail inmates.
“I am not going to vote yes on a budget that has Talitrix’s name in it, full stop,” Barrett said.
Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said commissioners kept the property tax rate unchanged, against county staff recommendation, then told staff to assemble a budget and now want to complain about the result.
Anderson said commissioners’ comments will be incorporated in a revised budget and brought back for more discussion.
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