Overview
The budget book states the FY2027 budget was balanced on attainable revenue with zero use of fund balance reserves in the General Fund — the fourth year in a row — and that overall county millage rates are a net decrease for the second year in a row. The General Fund pays for day-to-day operations: general government, the judicial system, the Sheriff's Office, the jail, health care, public works, buildings and grounds, fire services, elections, planning and zoning, and the library.
Source: Stephens County FY2027 Adopted Budget, transmittal letter (adopted June 23, 2026) and Government Wide summaries, pp. 3–4, 16–17. Open the budget book (PDF).
General Fund revenue
All tax sources account for about 76% of General Fund revenue, per the budget book's commentary. The three largest named sources are shown below; the remaining revenue comes from the many smaller lines in the book's General Fund revenue schedule (licenses and permits, charges for services, fines and forfeitures, investment income, and other sources).
| Revenue source | FY2027 adopted | Share of General Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Real property tax — current year, all levies (general, solid waste, EMS, fire services) | $10,296,462 | 41.7% |
| Local Option Sales Tax | $3,851,027 | 15.6% |
| Insurance premium tax | $1,650,294 | 6.7% |
| Total General Fund revenue | $24,669,218 | 100% |
The three rows above are highlights, not a full breakdown, so they intentionally do not sum to the total. The real-property figure is the sum of the book's four current-year real-property lines ($7,643,100 general + $505,000 solid waste + $1,448,000 EMS + $700,362 fire services), which matches the $10,296,462 stated in the book's commentary. Shares are computed from the $24,669,218 total. The book's commentary also states Local Option Sales Tax is projected up 4.43% and intangible tax up 15.38%.
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, revenue commentary (pp. 7–9) and General Fund revenue schedule (p. 18). Open the budget book (PDF).
General Fund spending by type
The book groups General Fund spending into eight types. This table reproduces that grouping exactly, and the parts sum to the total.
| Category | FY2026 adopted | FY2027 adopted | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Government | $5,393,031 | $6,034,793 | +11.90% |
| Judicial System | $2,317,690 | $2,375,580 | +2.50% |
| Sheriff & Jail | $6,319,539 | $6,616,121 | +4.69% |
| Health Care | $2,607,270 | $2,607,356 | 0.00% |
| Tax Departments | $1,005,804 | $1,088,292 | +8.20% |
| Other | $2,457,139 | $2,444,609 | −0.51% |
| Public Works & Maintenance | $2,394,819 | $2,449,531 | +2.28% |
| Fire & EMA | $817,828 | $1,052,936 | +28.75% |
| Total General Fund spending | $23,313,120 | $24,669,218 | +5.82% |
Sum check: the eight FY2027 rows add to exactly $24,669,218, and the eight FY2026 rows add to exactly $23,313,120. Note: the book prints $23,313,119 as that FY2026 column's total — $1 below the sum of its own rows — so the total shown here follows the rows, and the book's printed figure is disclosed here. The book notes public-safety departments (Sheriff, Jail, Fire, EMA, and EMS) account for 41.7% of General Fund spending, and that Fire & EMA's 28.75% increase reflects part-time fire staffing.
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, expenditure commentary (p. 12). Open the budget book (PDF).
Largest General Fund departments
The twelve largest departments, plus all other departments combined. The remainder row is computed from the stated total so this table sums exactly; see the note on the source's $2 difference.
| Department | FY2027 adopted | Share |
|---|---|---|
| General Government | $4,591,507 | 18.6% |
| Sheriff | $3,953,264 | 16.0% |
| Jail | $2,662,857 | 10.8% |
| Health & Human Services | $2,512,429 | 10.2% |
| Public Works | $1,705,782 | 6.9% |
| Rural Fire Protection | $893,062 | 3.6% |
| Clerk of Court | $733,817 | 3.0% |
| Recreation | $624,917 | 2.5% |
| Tax Commissioner | $566,534 | 2.3% |
| Buildings & Grounds | $549,998 | 2.2% |
| Tax Assessor | $521,758 | 2.1% |
| Entity Allocations | $390,850 | 1.6% |
| All other General Fund departments (26 departments, remainder) | ||
| All other departments | $4,962,443 | 20.1% |
| Total General Fund spending | $24,669,218 | 100% |
Disclosure: the budget book's 38 individual department lines sum to $24,669,220, which is $2 above the book's stated General Fund total of $24,669,218. The "all other departments" row above is therefore computed as the stated total minus the twelve named departments ($4,962,443), so this table sums exactly to the stated total; the $2 gap sits inside the source document, not in this page's arithmetic. Shares are rounded and may not add to exactly 100%.
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, General Fund department detail (pp. 20–21). Open the budget book (PDF).
All funds, FY2027 adopted
County-wide, FY2027 adopted revenue of $34,237,241 plus prior-year fund balance of $20,896,747 gives $55,133,988 in total available funds, which equals total adopted spending. The jump from FY2026 is driven mainly by SPLOST VIII (see below). Both tables below sum exactly to the stated totals.
| Fund | FY2027 revenue | FY2027 spending |
|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $24,669,218 | $24,669,218 |
| Sheriff State Asset Forfeiture | $2,000 | $20,911 |
| Opioid Grant | $131,569 | $379,494 |
| Jail Fund | $50,611 | $73,027 |
| Drug Rehabilitation | $28,250 | $420,706 |
| Juvenile Supervision | $6,001 | $25,394 |
| Hotel / Motel Tax | $109,000 | $109,000 |
| Jail Commissary | $130,000 | $130,000 |
| SPLOST VII Capital Projects | $180,000 | $5,683,053 |
| SPLOST VIII Capital Projects | $6,180,000 | $18,180,000 |
| Capital Projects | $500 | $1,316,763 |
| Solid Waste Enterprise | $633,254 | $633,254 |
| Emergency Communications (E-911) | $1,311,329 | $1,311,329 |
| Restricted Revenues | $805,509 | $2,181,839 |
| Total | $34,237,241 | $55,133,988 |
Spending exceeds revenue in several funds (notably SPLOST VIII and SPLOST VII) because those funds draw on prior-year fund balance — including SPLOST VIII bond proceeds — which is why county-wide spending ($55,133,988) equals revenue plus prior-year fund balance ($34,237,241 + $20,896,747). The American Rescue Plan Fund is $0 in FY2027 in both columns and is omitted. Sum checks: revenue rows add to exactly $34,237,241; spending rows add to exactly $55,133,988.
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, Government Wide Revenue and Expenditure Summaries (pp. 16–17). Open the budget book (PDF).
SPLOST & capital
| SPLOST VII | Collections ran July 2020 – June 2026; zero collections in FY2027 (interest income only, $180,000 revenue). One final debt payment of $1,975,000 was due July 1, 2026. FY2027 spending: $5,683,053. |
|---|---|
| SPLOST VIII | Approved by voters in November 2025; collections July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2032, estimated at $28,303,089 over six years. A $12,000,000 bond issued April 28, 2026 pre-funds projects: roads and bridges, economic development, hospital upgrades, Sheriff vehicles, jail upgrades, E-911 upgrades, ambulances, and multipurpose government facilities. FY2027 revenue $6,180,000; FY2027 spending $18,180,000 (the bond is what inflates the county-wide budget versus prior years, per the transmittal letter). |
| Capital, General Fund | $904,090 in allocated capital expenditures plus $412,673 unallocated, per the transmittal letter. Capital Projects Fund spending of $1,316,763 covers computer and server upgrades, a District Attorney vehicle, historic document preservation, jail repairs, building improvements, and a mandated website project. |
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, transmittal letter and fund commentary (pp. 4, 9–10, 14). Open the budget book (PDF).
Workforce & priorities
| Positions | 210 approved county-wide for FY2027 (209 in FY2026; 215 requested). Largest: Sheriff 53, Jail 31, Public Works 23, Emergency Communications 16, Clerk of Court 10. |
|---|---|
| Pay | 3% merit increase using performance-based evaluations; health insurance up over 12% (employer contribution increased); liability insurance up 9%; workers' compensation up 5%. |
| Public safety | Substantial increase for the fire department to implement part-time staffing; funding approved for building upgrades to diversify ambulance locations. General Fund transfers to Solid Waste rose $80,602 (+14.6%) and to E-911 rose $52,172 (+6.9%). |
| Elected leadership | Board of Commissioners: Chris Rickman (Chairman), Craig Oglesby (Vice-Chairman), Tara Simmons, Debbie Whitlock, and Chuck Wright; County Administrator Christian Hamilton; County Clerk Samantha Turner; County Attorney Brian Ranck (per the budget book's title pages). |
Source: FY2027 Adopted Budget, position summary (p. 15) and expenditure commentary (pp. 4, 11). Open the budget book (PDF).
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Stephens County FY2027 Adopted Budget (adopted June 23, 2026), stephenscountyga.gov PDF. Every figure above is traceable to that document; no other document was used as a figure source.
- Not used: the FY2025 audit. It was content-verified in an earlier inventory, but the UGA TED file server was down for maintenance (HTTP 503) during this build, so no audited figure appears here. Nothing on this page should be read as an audited actual.
- Budget vs. actual: all figures are adopted-budget figures. They show what the county planned to take in and spend, not what it ultimately did.
- Known source discrepancies, disclosed not hidden: (1) the 38 General Fund department lines sum to $24,669,220, $2 above the book's stated $24,669,218 total (flagged in place in the departments section); (2) the book prints $23,313,119 as the FY2026 by-type total, $1 below the sum of its own rows (flagged in place in the spending section). All other tables on this page sum exactly to their stated totals.
- What is not here: population, tax digest, millage rates, and audited fund balances are not stated in the figures used and are therefore omitted rather than estimated.
This is an unofficial demonstration dashboard, not a publication of Stephens County. For official figures, see the county's adopted budget linked above.