Gilmer County commissioners are going to have to do more than check under the sofa cushions for loose change to balance the 2025 budget.
Over the last two weeks, the board has met in an attempt to shave down next year’s maintenance and operating budget and the capital budget.
For 2025 the M&O budget stands at $43,022,245, which is a $57,000 increase over 2024. The capital budget is $7,666,995, which is a $2.2 million decrease from 2024.
“There are no good places to cut here,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris.
They started with a deficit of more than $2.75 million in the M&O budget versus revenue and $500,000 which needed to be cut in the capital budget.
Following meetings Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, the capital budget is balanced, and the M&O shortfall is down to $2,276,464.
All figures are fluid as they make changes.
Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson said he would work to get by without two additional detention officers which he requested.
He did ask to keep funding for a school resource officer, which is paid for half by the sheriff’s office and half by the school system.
Three additional people for the emergency call center were also deemed extremely necessary by Nicholson.
“The call volume is astronomical,” he said.
Nicholson runs one of the three biggest portions of the Gilmer County budget. The sheriff’s office, the detention center and the emergency call center account for $9.95 million in the M&O budget plus $900,000 in the capital budget.
Emergency medical services and the fire department come in at $6.5 million in the M&O budget and another $2.7 million in the capital budget.
A big-ticket item for the fire department is a ladder truck, which is estimated to cost between $1.8 million and $2.2 million.
There is some discussion about whether the department will be able to purchase a truck already in production for 2025 or if the purchasing process would take up to three years for delivery.
If the truck is able to be delivered in 2025, the whole amount would have to be in the 2025 budget. If not, funding for the purchase price might be able to be separated into a couple of budget years.
Finally, public works, which includes the county road department and waste disposal, comes in at $7.7 million in the M&O budget and another $1.7 million in the capital budget.
To balance the capital budget, commissioners are looking at using tourism development money which comes from hotel/motel taxes to offset expenses in the parks and recreation department, specifically with the swimming pool and tournament budgets, and the golf course, which can also be considered a facility which gets considerable use by tourists.
Commissioners are looking at dates following the Christmas holiday to continue shaving the budget down.