Commissioner Mike Hamby released his fiscal year 2026 budget draft yesterday, less than one week before the scheduled vote. The biggest change in Hamby’s proposal from one drafted by Commissioner Carol Myers is that it spends $6.7 million from the county’s SPLOST and TSPLOST funds on various capital needs while cutting the property tax millage rate slightly.
Hamby’s draft includes many aspects of Myers’ budget proposal, which was developed two weeks ago at a budget work session attended only by Myers and Commissioners Patrick Davenport and Melissa Link. The other seven commissioners – who compromise the governing majority faction – were all absent.
UPDATE 6/8/25: Myers has dropped a new proposal in the final days before the scheduled vote on the fiscal year 2026 budget that keeps tax rates even and uses about $300,000 less of the county’s fund balance reserve. She accomplishes this by taking a page from Hamby’s playbook, using $1.7 million of interest that has accumulated in the SPLOST 2011 and SPLOST 2020 funds.
Similarities between Hamby’s and Myers’ proposals
Both budget proposals include additional funding for the ACC Library, the Northeast Georgia Food Bank, the District Attorney’s office, the Public Defender’s office and other agencies. Both proposals fully fund ACCPD’s Real Time Crime Center, which has been an ask of law enforcement advocacy group SafeD Athens. Both proposals also equalize deputy pay in the ACC Sheriff’s office with that of police officers, which has been a constant yearly request from Sheriff John Q Williams.
Both proposals add $1 million to the county’s affordable housing fund as well.
These similarities led some commissioners to remark on how comparable the two proposals were overall.
“The amount of money that we’re moving around in both of these commission-defined options is very little. That shows how much we’re aligned with the bulk of everything that has come our way [during public comment], which means there’s been a lot of listening,” Commissioner Allison Wright said on Thursday. “Public safety is a clear priority for all of us.”
Differences between the two proposals
Yet, the proposals also have major differences in both the way money is spent and the way it is raised.
Spending
Hamby’s proposal spends an additional $750,000 to increase the frequency of leaf and limb pickup to every four weeks (it’s picked up every six weeks currently). He also adds $65,000 for an additional code enforcement officer to allow for code enforcement on the weekends.
Link raised questions about these expenses at the budget work session on Thursday, wondering if increasing leaf and limb pickup would even be possible.
“From what I understand, our challenge is maintaining qualified drivers,” Link said. “It’s not necessarily a matter of money, it’s about finding the qualified drivers to stay with us because they get picked off by the private sector. I’m not sure that’s a feasible proposal.”
Hamby’s budget also cuts $150,000 in funding for a new assistant manager position which was requested by former ACC Manager Blaine Williams before he announced his resignation last year. This new position was intended to reduce the heavy workload that now falls on upper level management, all of whom employed a year or two ago have now left the ACC government.
This proposal also increases funding for road and pavement maintenance by $2 million and for park facilities and maintenance by $250,000.
Revenue
One difference on the revenue side is that Myers’ plan takes an additional $656,029 from the county’s fund balance reserve compared to Hamby’s proposal, in addition to raising property taxes by 0.1 mil. Unlike Myers, Hamby was able to avoid dipping into fund balance and raising taxes while providing millions in extra spending.
In fact, Hamby’s proposal even cuts the property tax millage rate by 0.2 mils.
How was he able to do that? Hamby is proposing that the commission take $6.7 million of the unallocated interest that is accumulating in the county’s SPLOST and TSPLOST funds to cover for expenses that would otherwise come out of the general fund.
SPLOST and TSPLOST are sales taxes that fund the bulk of the county’s infrastructure and capital needs every year. In good economic times, these dollars often come in faster than county staff can spend right away, leading to large balances that accumulate. The interest on these balances can be a significant revenue source that is usually used to offset cost increases due to inflation or other gaps in SPLOST and TSPLOST project financing.
The interest generated in this way can only be used on expenses that were approved by voters in the SPLOST or TSPLOST referendum that authorized the sales tax in the first place. However, SPLOST and TSPLOST projects are often written as flexible “buckets” that can adjust easily to changing plans and available financing.
By using accumulated SPLOST and TSPLOST interest on programs that are also found in the general fund, Hamby’s proposal frees up general property tax money for other expenses. That’s how he’s able to spend additional money on ACCPD’s Real Time Crisis Center or affordable housing while still providing a tax cut.
For example, Hamby took $3.9 million in interest from TSPLOST 2023 and reallocated it to pavement maintenance and traffic signal replacements, which were projects recommended to be funded with both general property tax dollars and with TSPLOST 2023 dollars. For the next fiscal year, they will only be funded through TSPLOST if Hamby’s proposal passes. This is legal since TSPLOST 2023 includes projects for pavement maintenance (project #21) and for traffic signals (project #30).
Hamby’s proposal also uses $1 million from SPLOST 2011, $1.1 million from TSPLOST 2018 and $702,000 from SPLOST 2020 in a similar manner. Interestingly, the $1.1 million used from TSPLOST 2018 will breathe new life into the pavement maintenance project from that year’s program (project #7), which had already been completed.
The hidden cost of Hamby’s proposal
Hamby’s proposal funds nearly every request from partner agencies and from the public, with gifts for conservatives and progressives alike, while also cutting taxes. That’s a feat that seemed impossible just a week ago. When informed of Hamby’s plan yesterday for the first time, Myers herself called it “wonderfully creative,” although she added, “I wish I’d been able to see it before I sat down.”
Whereas Myers’ plan funds community priorities in the traditional way – by raising taxes – Hamby’s plan funds every request in a way that causes no short-term pain for anyone except the manager’s office.
While the benefits are clear, the cost of Hamby’s proposal is somewhat murky but will be paid over the coming years regardless.
$6.7 million is a significant amount to take from the county’s SPLOST and TSPLOST funds. While every project in these programs will still be funded to their full amount, this amount is an estimate made years before the projects are eventually funded. Sometimes, projects can’t be completed as originally conceived due to inflation, a poor estimate or other factors and must rely on accumulated interest if they are to happen in a timely manner.
The other option is for these projects to be delayed until a new funding source can be identified.
The cushion of accumulated interest will no longer be available for some projects, especially those in TSPLOST 2023, if Hamby’s proposal passes. This could mean significant additional delays or downsizing for some projects, although we don’t know at the moment which ones will be most affected.
Next Steps
The commission is set to vote on the fiscal year 2026 budget on Tuesday, June 10 at 6 pm at city hall.
Davenport, Link and Myers were the only commissioners to express concern with Hamby’s budget at Thursday’s budget meeting, meaning it is almost sure to pass. However, Myers’ budget also remains on the table for commission consideration over the next few days.
If you have comments or concerns about either budget proposal, you can show up in person at city hall on Tuesday to speak your mind or you can send your comments by email using this form or by emailing commissioners directly.
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