Ask what supports next year’s spending

Choose the questions that matter to you. You do not need to read every supporting record to ask for a clear explanation. The detailed prompts below identify what could supply one.

Why was there so little explanation in the located record?

1. What current needs and calculations support each of the twelve unchanged appropriations totaling $2,440,787? Source 8
2. Can commissioners identify any public meeting, minutes, recording or written explanation that supplies the substantive review we have not located? Please provide its date and page or timestamp. Source 8, 13
3. Where an item was described as unchanged, why was that considered sufficient explanation at that stage? What supporting material did commissioners review, and can residents inspect it before adoption?
4. For which services is the County legally responsible, and which funding choices are discretionary? How do those obligations affect the available options?

Does next year's amount match next year's need?

5. What amendments explain Public Buildings spending of $780,267.32 against the displayed $653,386 budget? Which costs were one-time, and why is $653,386 sufficient for FY2027? Source 11
6. Does the $500,000 Healthcare Agreement payment recur? What supports proposing $750,000 for County Services after $1.25 million in reported spending? Source 11
7. Which prior-year figures are authoritative, and what explains the $3,200 summary-to-worksheet difference? Source 12
8. Of the $2,037,163 increase, how much is recurring compensation, one-time equipment or projects, and other changes? What continuing costs follow those purchases? Source 1, 12

What will residents receive?

9. What service levels or results does each appropriation purchase, and what report will show whether they were delivered?
10. What alternatives were compared, what would each cost, and what would residents lose or gain under those alternatives?
11. After grants and reimbursements, what is the County's net cost, and are there future matching, maintenance or staffing commitments?
12. Will the County publish the supporting explanations and any resulting changes before the adoption decision?

Put the supporting records on the table

13. For payments to outside organizations, is each payment a grant, dues, a service contract, operating support or project funding? What conditions must be met before payment, and what documentation comes back to the County?
14. Will commissioners identify the specific supporting documents they reviewed by title, date and fiscal period, and make the releasable records available before adoption?
15. Before any future major development commitment, will the County publish a project-specific comparison of expected revenue, upfront and continuing public costs, infrastructure needs, incentive terms and financial risks? This asks for a decision standard; it does not assert that an unverified project or commitment exists.

Specific accounts that deserve an answer

16. Public Buildings: what equipment was rented for the reported $43,138, why was the displayed budget and next proposal $1,000, and will that rental need continue? The detailed reconciliation identifies these worksheet amounts; it does not establish whether amendments were approved. Source 12
17. Ambulance/Rescue — $200,000 proposed for Furniture & Fixtures: what assets, services or obligations does this account actually cover? What produced the $188,505.08 reported in FY2026 year-to-date spending, and what specifically will the $200,000 proposed for FY2027 purchase? Identify any costs moved from another department. County worksheet, part 2, PDF p. 3 / printed p. 18, account 100.3.600.54.2300
18. Landfill and Unallocated: what transaction does the Landfill Reserve posting represent—a transfer, reserve movement or operating expense? Which fund received it, what approval supports it, and how is it kept from being counted twice in a combined spending comparison?
19. Rural Fire: how does the September 1 approval of a $119,800 SPLOST-funded truck relate to the proposed $400,000 fire-equipment component? Is it additional, a replacement for part of that plan, or a separate fiscal-year purchase? Please provide the replacement schedule and funding sources. Source 18
20. Tax Assessor professional services: identify the records-maintenance contract discussed at the workshop, its contractor, amount, term, scope and approval record. What share of Professional Services funds it, and what work and access to work-product records does it purchase? The worksheet label alone should not be used to attribute the entire account to GMASS. Source 8
21. Probation: what workload, staffing, service agreements and revenue offsets support repeating $166,250? Reconcile the current spending pattern and any amendments with next year's request. Source 1, 8
22. Juvenile Court: what agreement and workload support the prosecutor appropriation, how are services billed, and what state or circuit funding offsets the County's costs? Source 1, 8
23. Judicial Administration and Magistrate: what current circuit allocation, staffing and caseload calculations support carrying these amounts forward? What changed in the underlying needs even if the totals did not? Source 1, 8
24. Clerk of Court and County Shop: what costs or positions were removed, remained vacant, or moved to another department? Can the County show the receiving accounts so residents can distinguish savings from transfers? Source 8
25. DFCS: what services and payment conditions support the proposed appropriation, and what reporting will show how the funds were used? Source 1, 8