The second and last public hearing on the county’s planned $80 million budget for fiscal year 2026 will be held before the Habersham County Board of Commissioners. The hearing will be held in the jury assembly chamber at the county courthouse on Llewellyn Street on Monday, June 30 at 6 p.m.
Only a few residents showed up for the first hearing, which was held on June 24.
During the meeting, Commissioners Bruce Harkness, Dustin Mealor, Jimmy Tench, Kelly Woodall, and Ty Akins presented budget objectives aimed at cutting total spending and reordering capital projects. At $80.25 million, the proposed overall budget for all funds represents a 5.38% decrease from the previous year.
Habersham then asked for a copy of the itemized budget that was being considered, but was turned down because Interim Finance Director Kiani Holden stated that she did not currently have a finalized itemized budget.
As soon as I have it in our accounting program, I will be pleased to email you a document that has been split down in that manner. That is, upon the budget’s approval and adoption. “I don’t put anything into the system until we have it approved,” Holden added.
Habersham County Clerk Brandy Carnes supplied the needed documents following a second request.
Differences in capital planning
To help direct the course of action, each commissioner provided suggested capital plans. Akins, Woodall, Tench, and Mealor suggested more than $1 million in General Fund Capital Improvement Projects and Purchases, four of the five. Commissioner Bruce Harkness made a substantial deviation by suggesting $523,148.
Harkness also noted that $399,137 in airport lighting enhancements will be funded by a grant, bringing his projected Special Revenue Fund capital items total down to $783,822. Each of his coworkers suggested $963,822.
Despite these disagreements, the five commissioners demonstrated unified economic prudence by agreeing to cap General Fund capital improvement spending at $220,000.The budget for fiscal year 2026 is being reviewed and discussed by all five commissioners. (Habersham/Carly McCurry)
Following the discussion, Harkness clarified that he is reviewing each line item of spending and that I am questioning each one since that is the reason I got elected. He claimed that it was his obligation to the big county’s taxpayers to scrutinize every penny and work to keep taxes low.
According to Harkness, I was chosen to be a responsible steward of the tax money that the people of this county have paid. Every penny that this government spends comes from the hard-working men and women in this county, and I feel it is my responsibility to ensure that every penny is used wisely for our county both now and in the future.
Public safety and staffing shifts
However, a number of suggested increases sparked concerns, especially in the areas of public health and safety. The dramatic increase in sheriff’s office budget is one of them.
The budget for the sheriff’s office is anticipated to rise by $711,274 in 2026 under the proposed budget.
According to Kiani Holden, interim finance director and Habersham County financial administrator, the increase is due to budget reallocations rather than new hiring as previously reported. According to her, one of the two public information officers who had previously been assigned to the county manager’s office was moved to the sheriff’s office and is now employed in code enforcement, while two code enforcement officers who were previously funded by the Planning and Development Department were placed under the sheriff’s office.
“It made more sense for him to oversee those particular positions, so we moved those over to the Sheriff’s Office,” Holden explained. She added that the hike also takes into consideration the sheriff’s office budget’s addition of health insurance coverage.According to this Habersham County Finance Office pie chart, public safety would receive 44% of the proposed budget, which includes a large increase in funding for the sheriff’s office. According to NowHabersham.com,
The planned budget for this year also calls for increased spending on health services. After receiving $35,000 last year, the Health Department is expected to get $198,788 in 2026, which will bring it back to its 2022 levels.
Recycling is also included as a new budget item in the proposed 2026 budget, with $2,734,361 in suggested funding for that year.
At a special meeting on June 30 at 6 p.m., the commission will vote on the proposed budget and hold a second public hearing. The Habersham County Courthouse is where the meeting will take place.
