Audio clip
Jason Winters
SUMMERVILLE, Ga.--Chattooga County's budget for 2010 is about $18,000 slimmer than 2009, but county leadership increased the amount allotted for a few departments.
The new budget approved by County Commissioner Jason Winters Thursday increases the budget for the sheriff's office, library and economic development. Mr. Winters said the funding for the increases came from cuts back on travel, office equipment and other expenses across the board.
"We were able to find the funding for most of these projects within existing revenues," the commissioner said.
Of the more significant moves, the Chattooga Economic Development Authority will see it's funding go from $46,000 to $97,000.
Attempts to reach members of the authority failed Thursday, but Mr. Winter and Summerville Industrial Development Authority Butch Eleam said the money would go to signage and other marketing efforts for industrial property.
"It could be pretty significant in that there is very little being spent now as far as promoting those sites," Mr. Eleam said.
The library's budget went from $77,931 to $82,100 based on it's growing usage.
Mr. Winters theorized that the some residents opted for the public computers at the library if they couldn't afford Internet service at home.
"When you have numbers saying more people are using it, it doesn't make sense to cut funding," he said.
Attempts to reach Library Director Susan Stephens were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Winters said the increase to the jail and sheriff's budget from a combined $2.78 million from $2.70 million were more procedural than actual increases. In the last several years, the sheriff's office has come in over budget and funds had to be reallocated during the year.
Mr. Winters said the allotted amount was "unrealistic" and moving the funds earlier should clean up the books, he said.
Sheriff John Everett confirmed the changes wouldn't affect personnel or services and explained that the previous administrators preferred to keep the budgeted amount low, but add in money later.
"He's trying to give us more budget to work under so we won't have to amend it during the year," he said of Winters.
BY THE NUMBERS
$12,335,609: 2009 budget
$12,317,080: 2010 budget
Source: Jason Winters
Andy began working at the Times Free Press in July 2008 as a general assignment reporter before focusing on Northwest Georgia and Georgia politics in May of 2009. Before coming to the Times Free Press, Andy worked for the Anniston Star, the Rome News Tribune and the Campus Carrier at Berry College, where he graduated with a communications degree in 2006. He is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Tennessee ...
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