The Habersham County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting on Monday, June 23, at 6:00 p.m. to present and conduct a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
The proposed budget totals $80.2 million, reflecting a decrease of $4.37 million from FY 2025’s $84.57 million budget.
Despite the overall decrease, the general fund is set to increase by about $1.62 million, bringing its budget for the upcoming year to $40.8 million. The most significant increases include:
-
Sheriff’s Office: Up by $711,274, to over $5.58 million due to health insurance and pay increases and adding three employees
-
Jail Operations: Increase of $388,496 to include health insurance and pay increase for employees
-
Public Defender’s Office: Up by $117,334, largely due to state salary adjustments
-
E-911 Transfer: An increase of $573,550, offsetting reduced fee collections
-
Information Technology and Juvenile Court also saw notable increases of $97,450 and $97,083, respectively
Conversely, some departments will see significant cuts:
-
Airport Department: Down $2.9 million following a major funding spike in FY 2025
-
Capital Improvement Fund: Decreased by $570,815
-
Planning and Development: Cut by $173,287
-
Gymnastics Program: Entire $470,350 budget removed because the program was privatized
The budget includes over $1.9 million in overall increases to base salaries and benefits, with $600,000 attributed to health insurance and more than $500,000 to retirement contributions.
Click here to view the proposed Habersham County budget
Homestead exemptions
County Manager Tim Sims advised Habersham residents to understand that the tax assessed value of their properties are being raised and not the actual taxes they have to pay. He said that residents who signed up for homestead exemptions have the benefit of their property taxes being frozen.
“Every time [a resident’s] tax assessment goes up based on market value, their exemption goes up to meet that,” said Sims.
Sims said that about 80% of residential properties in the county are included in the homestead exemption. The other 20% include “second homes” or “rental property.”
A second public hearing and final budget adoption are scheduled for Monday, June 30, at 6:00 p.m. Both hearings will take place in the Jury Assembly Room of the Habersham County Courthouse, 295 Llewellyn Street, Clarkesville.
Citizens are encouraged to attend both hearings and review the proposed budget, available for the public at the Habersham County Administrative Building and online at www.habershamga.com.
