On Tuesday, July 11, the Macon-Bibb County Commission approved the budget for Fiscal Year 2020, which is from July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020. It includes no millage rate increase, moves funding for several outside agencies primarily to hotel-motel sales tax, and

To view the budget and the videos the Public Hearing and the Special Commission Meeting where it was approved, click on the links below. A video from when the budget was first presented in May is also below, but those numbers have changed as the Operations & Finance Committee made adjustments.

This year’s budget was built with no millage rate increase, and revenue numbers were budgeted at 99% of projections, as was done this past year. Highlights from the past year and moving forward are that property values are increasing (meaning a rollback of the millage could be required), an increase in sales tax, and an increase in other fees and revenue streams. The fund balance is also expected to increase at the end of this fiscal year, from approximately $5 million to $11 million.

Of the $164.5 million budget, almost $106 million is for salaries and benefits, and a majority of the total budget will be spent on Public Safety and the Courts. Even with most of the budget going toward salaries and benefits, the total number of employees is fewer than when the consolidated government was created in January 2014, from 2,095 to 1,807.

While the budget does not include a salary increase for employees, the Operations & Finance Committee has announced commitment to conducting a salary study to deal with issues arising from no longevity pay increases and the increased workload by many people. The salary study will begin to address those issues and help the Commission make decisions on ensuring employees are paid for the work they are doing and are recognized for their time.

The next step in the budget process is for the Commission to officially set the millage rate, and that will happen after the Tax Assessors Office finalizes the Tax Digest in the next several weeks.