The Fannin County Board of Commissioners approved their proposed 2021 budget with the addition of $87,675 for the Sheriff’s Department Tuesday, December 8.
The budget includes $29,443,533 for Grand Total All Expenditures and Grand Total Revenues Amended.
Sheriff Dane Kirby was the only person to speak during the scheduled public hearing for the budget, and he asked that $87,675 that had previously been budgeted for a lease payment in the 2020 budget, but taken out of the 2021 proposed budget after the lease payment had been completed, be added back into to his budget to go toward the purchase of five needed vehicles. While the money for three vehicles had already been budgeted, Kirby still needed the funds to cover an additional two that he hadn’t foreseen he would need to purchase.
Chairman Stan Helton said that the money was taken out of the budget because Kirby had previously asked to move it into salaries, and the commissioners’ office had chosen not to allow salary increases this year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s potential effect on the county.
“A couple of years ago, we had a workshop … where the SPLOST fund for public safety, you get 25% of that,” Helton said. “You were saying on here to use SPLOST. You have $34,000 that would be in the budget next year for Capital Outlay plus you would have $100,000, it’s not budgeted, but you would have $100,000 available to you on top of that.”
Kirby explained that he had already budgeted the $134,000, but that amount would only fund three vehicles for the department, but the department needs five.
“If y’all don’t put this money back in my budget, I’m gonna have to take this $50,000 right here out of Small Equipment and Tools and buy a patrol car with it,” Kirby said. “That’s going to put that down to probably less than $10,000, and then we’ve still got another car that’s going to be slap wore out before we ever get back out to our 2022 budget. I’ve got a need for five vehicles.”
Helton suggested allowing the county to wait until the end of January to see where they stand financially. At that time, Helton suggested Kirby could come back before the board for a budget amendment.
Post One Commissioner Earl Johnson asked Kirby to clarify that his budget would actually remain at the same figure as last year, and Kirby said, “Leave our budget, bottom line, the same. We’re not asking for any more money. Just give us the same thing you gave us last year, and let me roll that money up in to buy two more cars. In a nutshell, that’s it.”
Kirby told the board that he currently has five vehicles spoken for, however, if they do not purchase them after the first of the year, they would have to be sold to someone else.
Johnson said, “I know I asked everyone to stay where they’re at. I didn’t agree to cut anybody’s.”
Both Johnson and Post Two Commissioner Glenn Patterson agreed they needed to put the money back into Kirby’s budget to fund the purchase of the vehicles.
“I don’t want to take a chance with public safety and the citizens’ protection for the month,” Patterson said. “It could work out, but then again it couldn’t. You never know what’s going to face us from day to day. So, if that’s what you need to keep the citizens of Fannin County safe, then I think we need to follow through and give it to you.”
Kirby expressed his appreciation, and elaborated on the issues his department has recently faced when trying to hire new deputies.
“I tell people all the time that people and vehicles are my two biggest things,” he said. “They’re the hardest things to keep up. We’re having a terrible time filling positions. We can’t find people to work. We’ve got two road deputy slots right now, one investigator slot, and we don’t know what we’re going to do. We got laughed at one time by a City of Blue Ridge officer. He was going to have to take a $4.00 (per hour) pay cut to come to work for us, and we’re dealing with a Towns County guy where Hiawassee PD is fixing to blow us out of the water. The next thing we’re going to have to do is get our salaries up. That’s becoming a tremendous problem for me.”
The board unanimously voted to approve the proposed budget with the addition to the Sheriff’s Department.
The budget remains predominately the same as last year, but features changes to the Risk Management (Insurance) line item, the Recreation Department and Land Development.
The Risk Management item was changed to reflect the new cost now that the county has moved back to a fully-insured plan.
The Recreation Department budget was increased after the board voted to fund a pre-school at the department earlier this year.
Land Development’s budget had previously included the funding for building inspections, however, this year the commissioners’ office chose to break Building Inspections out into their own line-itemed department.