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This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. The Editor can be reached at 770-468-7583 or at editor(at)PikeCountyTimes(dot)com. Pike County Times is a website for citizens to keep up with local events and stay informed about Pike County government. It began on November 13, 2006 as a watchdog on county government and has turned into an online newspaper.
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Wednesday, May 14, 2025 – 1:00 p.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Commissioners will meet in the upper courtroom of the courthouse on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 – 1:00 p.m. for a special called meeting. The meeting is open to the public will be broadcast live on Pike County Times' Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pikecountytimes.
[Note from the Editor: It will be nice when our county joins so many of the surrounding cities and counties to record and broadcast its meetings in a central place so citizens who cannot attend the meetings can watch at their convenience and the sound will be a better quality than what I can produce in the courtroom.]
Click here to see the documents that have been uploaded with the agenda on the Pike County government page.
1. CALL TO ORDER………………………………………………….Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION…………………………………………………………...…….. Silent Invocation
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE………………………………………Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget.
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION - NONE
7. ADJOURNMENT
Agenda subject to revision.
[Note from the Editor: Since I asked a ton of questions, I am uploading a copy of the official minutes and posting a link to the answers for all of the questions that were given to Pike County Times by County Attorney/County Manager Rob Morton. I usually call department heads and ask questions but was not able to take the time to do that this year so everything was asked in the meeting.]
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 – 1:00 p.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
Legal Minutes
The Pike County Board of Commissioners held a Special Called Meeting on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. in the Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon. Chairman Briar Johnson convened the meeting and Commissioners Tim Daniel, Tim Guy and Ken Pullin attended. County Attorney/County Manager Rob Morton and County Clerk Angela Blount were also present. (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2)). Due to unforeseen circumstances, Commissioner James Jenkins was unable to attend the meeting.
1. CALL TO ORDER ..... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION ..... Silent Invocation
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ..... Chairman J. Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))
Motion/second by Commissioners Daniel/Guy to approve the agenda, motion carried 4-0.
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget.
Kristen Cudnohufsky addressed the Board, expressing questions and concerns regarding significant variances between prior year actuals, departmental requests, and proposed figures for the FY 2025– 2026 budget, including but not limited to:
• Department 10 – Contingency: Increase from $50,000.00 in the prior year’s budget, requested to $100,000.00 in this year’s proposed budget; purpose unclear.
• Department 13 – Commissioners: Revenue increase of $2.4 million.
• Department 17 – Tax Assessors: Budget increase to $279,015.00; concern over employee salary increases given historical performance and reliance on third-party services. Total increase for Tax Assessors Department is $186,434.00, purpose for increase is unclear.
• Department 33 – Sheriff: Increase of $407,261.00.
• Department 42 – Public Works: Decrease of $462,198.00.
• Department 61 – Recreation: Increase of $174,502.00.
• Department 71 – Water Authority: Increase of $207,645.00.
• Department 76 Agribusiness: Decrease of $42,450.00.
• Fire Department and EMA: Decrease in funding noted as alarming due to already minimal staffing.
• Overall budget change: $3.2 million increase in expenditures.
• The proposed budget is lacking a 3, 5, or 10-year financial trend data for public review and analysis.
• Line Item #100-03-1545-311200-000 – Property Tax – Prior Year: Noted inconsistency between budgeted and actual figures; FY 2024–2025 actual through date is $204,775.00 when $100,000.00 was budgeted compared to the FY 2025-2026 budget $150,000.00 budgeted and recommended.
• Questioned valuation of $2 million land purchase; requested clarity on location and appraisal basis.
• Urged the Board to review all departmental budgets thoroughly and justify major percentage changes.
David Paulson addressed the Board stating though unprepared, commented on a 13.5% budget increase for real property revenues from $8.6 million to $10.6 million, compared to a CPI increase of 2.4%–2.9%. He expressed concern that the increase appears excessive.
Becky Watts presented the following comments and inquiries:
• Employee Insurance: Encouraged continuation of two-plan system for employees; suggested adjusting the county’s 85% contribution, especially for dependents if changes needed to be made. Encouraged the Board to do the best they can for the employees.
• Dept. 10 – Transfer Station Lease: Questioned $10,000.00 allocation.
• Dept. 13 – Board of Commissioners: Requested explanations for line items: Uniforms ($250.00) and Contract Services ($65,000.00). Mrs. Watts also would like to know what the Penalties/Late Charges ($8,114.00) was for in FY 2024-2025 budget.
• Dept. 14 – Elections and Registration: Asked about increases in Board Compensation ($7,500.00) and Contract Services.
• Dept. 17 – Tax Assessors: Referenced open records showing use of Traylor and Norman Appraisals in lieu of two employees; requested clarity.
• Dept. 18 – Building and Grounds: Uniform expenses remain at $750.00 despite low actuals. Minute Book 44, May 14, 2025, Page 2 of 2
• Dept. 20 – Court Services: New line items for Professional Services, Food, Small Equipment, and Contract Services ($4,000.00); purpose unclear.
• Dept. 25 – Court – Trial/Appeals: New entries for Professional Services and Food, purpose unclear.
• Dept. 34 – Jail: Variance in uniform expenses.
• Dept. 55 – McIntosh Trail Public Transport: $10,500.00 added; not present in prior year.
• Dept. 65 – Libraries (Communications – Phone): Discrepancies in budgeted and actual figures.
• Dept. 71 – Water Resources: $208,545.00 total budget; questioned if it funds water lines.
• Dept. 72 – County Agent: Expressed concern about absence of agent-related funding.
• Dept. 74 – Planning & Development: Questioned $27,000.00 for Contract Services.
• Dept. 77 – Development Authority: Asked if $116,968.00 is approximately a quarter mill.
• Dept. 80 – Fire Department: Concerns over employee salaries, uniform budget ($15,000.00 requested; $7,500.00 recommended).
• Dept. 91 – Animal Control: Missing cell phone allocation; unclear $5,500 Contract Services.
• Dept. 98 – Transfers In: Questioned $600.00 from Hotel/Motel tax; asked about FY 2024–2025 budget Line-item Other Fin Sources-Sale of Land ($1,584) and nothing budgeted for FY 2025- 2026 budget.
• Dept. 38 – E-911 (Expenditures): Noted changes in equipment; requested clarification.
• Dept. 17 – Tax Assessors (Expenditures): Contract Services recommended at $16,982.00; purpose requested.
• Dept. 71 – Water Resources (Expenditures): $1,955,000.00 for Water Authority Improvements; clarification requested.
• Fund 275 – Hotel/Motel Tax: $1,000.00 requested and recommended; questioned purpose.
• Dept. 93 – Special Local Option Tax – Principal Debt Payments: $1,975,000.00 requested and recommended; purpose questioned.
• Dept. 42 – Public Works (Expenditures) – Unpaved Repairs/Surface Treatments: $201,647.00 requested; asked for details.
Commissioner Pullin noted that the county owes United Bank $2.3 million in November 2025 for land acquisition; this is reflected in the Commissioners’ budget. He expressed just looking at the summary page of the budget, it gives the citizens the perspective about apparent budget priorities:
• Increased funding for Tax Assessors and Sheriff’s Office.
• Decreased funding for Public Works.
• Significant variance between requested and recommended Parks & Recreation allocations.
Commissioner Pullin asked about clarity and future planning for the Fire Department to improve insurance ratings and reiterated that Animal Control remains a contentious topic needing attention. Commissioners will have a scheduled FY 2025-2026 Budget workshop on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in the main Courtroom of the Courthouse.
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION - NONE
7. ADJOURNMENT
Motion/second by Commissioners Daniel/Guy to adjourn at 1:34 p.m., motion carried 4-0.
[Note from the Editor: The link below has the answers to the questions that I received from Attorney Manager Morton.
An item of note concerning the hotel/motel tax. We have airbnb's operating in our county that are required to pay a hotel/motel tax that comes to us from the state. That revenue has to be included in our upcoming budget as an anticipated revenue. We may receive more than what has been estimated, but it had to be included in the budget. I am constantly learning new things with the county. This was a pleasant surprise.
A note on the minutes for the meeting by County Clerk Blount and the answers overall by Attorney Manager Morton is that both were well done. That was a lot of information to be recorded as part of the minutes! And we've talked through answers to questions in the past in a meeting, but to have things written down as a part of the record is priceless.
And I praised Finance Administrator Clint Chastain for splitting things out by the department that they actually come from and making things more easily understandable in this budget.]
Click here to read the answers given for the questions from the workshop: BOCBudgetWorkshopAnswers2025.pdf.
[Note from the Editor: If you appreciate being able to read information from county meetings for free on Pike County Times, please make a donation to Pike County Times through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page or by check to Pike County Times at PO Box 843, Zebulon so I can justify the amount of time that I am spending away from family. It may not seem like much but sitting in a meeting and then typing it up takes a lot more time than you might imagine! Thanks for reading Pike County's only FREE newspaper.]