At a special called meeting on Monday, September 30, 2024, the Greene County Commission approved a budget for the coming 2024-25 fiscal year which begins on October 1, 2024. A quorum of three members were present: Garria Spencer, Allen Turner and Roshanda Summerville to vote on the budget.
The total budget includes $14,069,394 in revenues and $13,224,811in expenditures, with a surplus of $844,583. Most of the surplus is in the General Fund Bingo account reserved for emergencies, budget overruns and unanticipated capital expenditures.
There is a note that the budget includes a 3% pay increase for all employees including elected officials. Mac Underwood, CFO said “We stretched our income and expenses to allow the commission to make a 3% salary increase for all employees. This was not easy to do, and we wished we could give more to our employees.”
The General Fund, which covers most basic county services, activities and programs, other than road and bridge construction and maintenance, projects revenues of $4,301,095 with expenses of the same amount, leaving a zero-fund balance to carry over into the next fiscal year.
The next largest fund, the Gasoline Fund had revenues of $3,824,300 and expenses of the same amount. There are several other funds: Roads and Bridges ($797,000), Highway and Traffic ($41,204), RRR Gas Tax ($863,968) and Capital Improvement ($235,500) which are for improvement and maintenance of roads, bridges and other county facilities. All these accounts are budgeted to spend all their revenues, leaving no surplus.
The Gasoline Fund Budget contains the sale of 3 dump trucks at $195,000 each, 4 tractors at $42,000 and other excess equipment for $104,000. This income is offset by the purchase of three new dump trucks at $215,000 each, 3 tractors at $82,000, 1 tractor at $89,000 and computer hardware and software for $16,500. The County negotiated this agreement to trade its one year old dump trucks and tractors for new equipment to reduce expense for repairs and down-time.
The Commission also approved an agreement with the Board of Education and the Sheriff’s Department to allow for the employment of six School Resource Officers, who provide safety in the schools for $238,040.
The Greene County Board of Education pays for nine months of the SRO contract, during the regular school year, and the Sheriff pays for three months, out of bingo funds that he administers.
The called meeting took about thirty minutes since all the details had been discussed at previous Commission budget hearings, working sessions and regular meetings.