2020 audit reveals revenue up, expenses down in Union
News July 21, 2021
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Union County received a clean/unmodified opinion concerning its 2020 audit from Rushton and Company, a CPA firm.
Clay Pilgrim, CPA, CPE, CCF, delivered the information during the July County Commission meeting.
“I do have great news, this is real riveting information this audit, so I’m glad you joined us,” Pilgrim told the large crowd. He also thanked all county officials for their help.
The 2020 fiscal budget was amended down from $17,999,955 to $17,468,052 during the meeting as well.
The net position/ county equity covers three areas, net investments and capital assets, restricted net position, and unrestricted net position. The total net position for the county in 2020 was $57,418,192.
- Capital assets and net investments – $47,643,505 – examples: buildings, equipment
- Restricted net position – $5,456,656 – example: SPLOST
- Unrestricted net positions – $4,318,031 – example: residual
“For the year, there was an increase in net position, revenues exceeded expenses by $5,505,303. The largest reason for that increase was some operating grants and contributions that were received and sales tax increases as well with a lower expense increase overall,” Pilgrim stated.
In Union County’s General Fund also known as the operating budget, revenues increased 21 percent ($3,708,099) in 2020. Here’s the following breakdown of revenue increases:
2020 audit revenues by source. Sales Tax was the largest at 35 percent and property tax came in second at 32 percent.
- Property taxes – $181,943
- Title ad valorem – $543,158
- Intangible taxes – $174,580
- Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) – $922,524
- Intergovernmental revenues – $1,358,375
“[LOST increase] is a trend we’re seeing across the mountain areas of the state with sales tax. Folks moving this way or spending time up in the mountains with the pandemic that took place last year,” Pilgrim added.
The property tax line includes the last seven years of digest, any collections paid in 2020, and assessments.
Expenses for the county also increased by 4.7 percent ($777,040). The breakdown is as follows.
- General administration – $944,789 – the cost included capital outlay projects and the county reappraisal.
- Sheriff’s office – $297,845 – personal services
One area of expenditures decreased and that was highways and streets which were under by $583,708 also for personal services.
The unassigned fund balance or general fund equity will allow the county to operate for 2.7 months. The fund balance is $3,896,041. Last year, the fund balance was $1,805,929 and could only operate for 1.3 months.
2020 audit expenses Public Safety was the largest at 35 percent and general government came in second at 27 percent.
Pilgrim explained that counties want to keep between two- or three months’ worth of monies in the fund balance in case of emergencies. In 2019, when the county increased property taxes by 17 percent on its side, Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris explained that the dip in the fund balance was part of the reason why.
SPLOST 5 went into effect in 2021 and thus far $51,780 has been expended on capital projects. The 2015 SPLOST or SPLOST 4 expended $6,210,663 in collected sales tax. SPLOST money can’t go into the general fund.
“It does typically reduce the need for other taxation,” Pilgrim commented because it goes toward capital projects.
However, SPLOST doesn’t go toward the operational costs. TSPLOST has a little more room concerning the operation of roads and bridges.
Union County 2021 operating budget adopted
News December 28, 2020
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – The 2021 operating budget for Union County was officially set in a called meeting on December 28, 2020.
The total budget for $21,748,780 which was an 11.7 increase from 2020. In a public hearing, Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris cited several reasons for the rising budget including state cuts, property reevaluation, potential gun range costs, COVID-19 expenses, and other various expenses.
Paris thanked his staff, finance director Laura Driskell, purchasing director Pam Hawkins, and county manager Larry Garrett for working to create a streamlined budget.
The 2021 budget incorporated a property tax hike of 17 percent on the county side – a 6.8 percent increase overall. The previous year’s budget fell short of making ends meet by almost $1 million so a property tax increase was necessary. However, the ongoing property reevaluation could drop taxes next year.
SPLOST collections skyrocketed in 2020 and several SPLOST projects are planned in 2021 using the last four months of SPLOST 4 collections and eight months of SPLOST 5. The projects are as follows:
- Jail Roof replacement
- View Grill expansion
- Courthouse HVAC – 2 large roof top units’ replacement
- Meeks Park new restroom facility
- New convenience center for trash and recycling on north end of county
- Future jail property (second half of payment)
- Sheriff’s Office vehicles
- Road work and paving
- City of Blairsville projects
- New pumper engine/fire truck
- Road department dump truck and other equipment and vehicles
- Balls fields complex in front of Farmers Market
- Senior Center upgrades/addition
- SAFE shelter upgrades/addition
- Suches Community Center floor replacement
For a more detailed breakdown of the 2021 operating budget, read this article.
How does the public feel about recent property purchases?
News September 1, 2020
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – The raucous crowds at the three property tax budget hearings wanted more information on the two recent purchases for the Hill Property for a little less than $750,000 and the Old Shoe Factory for $800,000.
According to Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris, neither of these purchases affected the decision to raise property taxes in 2020. However, attendees still needed to know why make these decisions back to back.
- See the reasons behind the tax increase, here.
“Why are we still buying all this property for the future? I understand the jail,” asked one attendee. “I understand the jail, but I don’t see a whole lot of companies lining up to buy that property at the shoe factory. Why can’t we put that off until we have the new property evaluated?”
The Old Shoe Factory was purchased using SPLOST funds, which can’t go toward operating expenses or certain maintenance costs. SPLOST goes toward capital outlay projects, such as parks, roads, schools, and public facilities. It also doesn’t affect the 2021 budget in any way, and the property is financed for six months, with half down at the time of purchase. They couldn’t finance the Hill Property.
Some citizens asked for greater transparency and tried to find a solution.
“No way I would have contracted for [those two pieces of property] if I felt like I had a choice,” stated Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris.
According to Paris, the Old Shoe Factory owners were dissolving the property and putting it on the market. Sheriff Mack Mason told Paris it would be the perfect place for a jail at a valuable price. However, they don’t anticipate building a jail for another five to eight years. In the past, Union County has paid around $300,000 to other facilities to house local prisoners. After talking with judges and district attorneys, they found a way to drop costs to approximately $80,000.
The current Union County jail can hold 54 inmates, but it typically houses 70 to 80, plus those that stay in other facilities. With COVID-19, the jail population is down due to executive orders to keep jail populations low.
“One of the hardest things in the world is to find where you can put a jail,” the commissioner added. “I’m hoping it will be way down the road. With the sheriff’s insistence, we felt like we’re saving the county money in the long run.”
No one wants a jail near their homes, but the Old Shoe Property is close to the existing jail and fire department with room for expansion.
Another gentleman, who works for local law enforcement, agreed with the Old Shoe purchases because the current jail is out of space. Training is impossible at the existing facility. They must go somewhere else to train deputies.
Also, a new facility has the potential to bring in revenue. built to federal specifications, Union could house federal prisoners and earn money from the federal government.
Others expressed their displeasure with Commissioner Paris, the tax increase, and the new county properties.
Hill Property
As for the Hill Property, the county previously budgeted for it and paid $150,000 beneath the appraised value. Union General Hospital owns the surrounding 500-plus acres, and a few people asked why didn’t the hospital purchase it?
According to Paris, the UGH couldn’t make that purchase due to COVID-19. The pandemic resulted in a financially strapped hospital that had to lay off people in the spring. In the future, the hospital could purchase the Hill Property from the county or vice versa. It provides options to both entities for either a retirement community, a new nursing home, or something else.
The commissioner expressed many in Union County express a desire for a retirement community.
“It’s one of the few things we don’t have in this county that we sorely need,” Paris added. “We feel this development is a very good possibility for the future in the next three to five years. We take a large tract of property currently exempt from property tax rolls now and have it developed and sold to the retirement village with individual homeowners and property taxpayers.”
Pat Shafer, one of those who wanted a retirement village, spoke at the third public hearing. “We have places for lower-income people, but I make too much in my retirement…There’s no place for us to go. I’m by myself now. What do I do? Do I go ten miles out of town?”
Pat Shafer would like to move to a retirement community, but Union County currently doesn’t have one.
Another attendee pondered if the promise of a retirement community in the near future was misleading because of the Hill Property’s life trust. The project might not start for five years unless something changes.
In each hearing, crowds echoed that the purchases and tax increase were “too much at once” and “looked bad.”
However, many also agreed that Paris had done a great job managing the county. They liked the dog park, new pavilion at Meeks Park, Pickleball court, and double gym. Attendees were in favor of the advancements made in Union.
They also asked for transparency in budgetary decisions, such as purchasing a property. However, county governments often conduct these discussions in executive sessions to prevent others from buying it and driving up the price.
“I’ll make sure that my staff and I really work on [how we could possibly do that],” Paris said regarding property purchase transparency.
He also discussed the possibility of a county budget community that would work with the finance staff.
“All I can do is look at what we have done in the past and know that we use the same process now as we’ve always used. [We] listen to as many people, not going out to the public because [it’s a property purchase,]” explained Paris.
The county does talk to real estate agents and certain community members to help it decide on property purchases. Paris added people could be added to a list if they wanted to be involved in the purchasing decision process.
“We’re going to watch every penny this year, tighter than we’ve always watched it, and we’re going to try and see if there are ways to cut this next year. We just couldn’t take a chance of our fund balance going so low and impacting our credit,” Paris ended.