Cherokee County Budget Includes Police, Fire Salary Increases

Photo credit: Patch file

The Cherokee County Commission on Tuesday is expected to adopt its fiscal year 2015 budget.

The board will consider approving the budget during its meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the Cherokee County Administration Building. The building is at 1130 Bluffs Parkway in Canton.

The proposed budget is $195.7 million, a $21.4 million, or 12.3 percent, increase from the fiscal year 2014 budget of $174.2 million. The budget is based upon the county’s millage rate of 9.908.

Broken down, the county is seeing increases in the areas of:

• General fund: an $8.2 million increase primarily driven by a 10 percent salary adjustment for public safety employees that amount to $4 million; a 2 percent salary adjustment for all other employees that add up to $500,000; the hiring of 35 new employees that equals $1.4 million; and healthcare claims that total $2.2 million;
• Capital: a $13.9 million increase primarily driven by SPLOST projects that total $6.6 million; Parks Bond projects with a value of $5.4 million; and debt service adding up to $1.5 million).

The commission in July voted to utilize $1 million in general fund reserves, $500,000 in fire reserves and another $500,000 in the sale of parks land to fund the salary adjustments.

Proposed funds for the fiscal year 2015 budget include: General Fund at $63.4 million; Fire Fund at $21.1 million; EMS Fund at $8.2 million; E-911 Fund at $4.3 million; Unincorporated County Services Fund at $8.1 million; Parks and Recreation Fund at $4.4 million; Senior Services Fund at $1.1 million; Animal Shelter Fund at $1.1 million; Transportation Fund at $1.2 million; Insurance and Benefits Fund at $11.7 million; and Capital Funds at $63.8 million.

Within the Capital Fund, the county has budgeted SPLOST V (2006-2012) at $2.4 million; SPLOST 2012 (2012-2018) at $38.2 million; Parks Bond Fund at $15 million; $1.56 in impact fees; and $6.58 million in debt service.

The county’s projects that will be funded in fiscal year 2015 with SPLOST dollars include phase two of renovations at Hobgood Park at $1 million and renovations and security upgrades at the Cherokee County Justice Center. Under its parks bond initiative, the county plans to pour $700,000 into projects for existing parks, $8.2 million towards the new East Park, Patriot’s Park and Veterans Park and $5.7 million towards city park projects in Canton, Ball Ground, Holly Springs and Woodstock.

Commissioners will also consider approving a five-year lease with the Cherokee County Historical Society for 3,683 acres in the Cherokee County Historic Courthouse and a construction services agreement with Latimer Construction and to IDS, Inc., to make renovations on the ground floor at the Cherokee County Justice Center.

The proposal, which involves the county paying $18,408 to Latimer and 6,035 to IDS, would include expanding the Jury Assembly room, deeds/records wall construction, bollard construction and installation and CMU wall demolition.