County Goes Online With Financial Reports

During the August 9th County Commission Workshop, this reporter suggested that the Board of Commissioners make good on a campaign promise that they each made. Each of the commissioners supported a proposal to make Gilmer County’s financial activities more transparent by posting the monthly financial report on the official County website. That report is now online and can be viewed at: http://www.gilmercounty-ga.gov/forms/financial/FINANCIALSTMT-JUNE-2009.pdf .

The current report shows that, in the Unrestricted General Fund Budget, expenses for the first half of 2009 are 2.43% below budget. That, however, is offset by income collections being down 10.06%. The Board of Commissioners, in their last regular meeting, expressed a desire to have each department review their budgets and bring them back in line. They also indicated that a future meeting would include an amendment to the current budget to reflect the income & expenses for the remainder of the year.

It is important to note that the County Commission (B.O.C.) does not actually control the expenses of the other Constitutional Officers such as: sheriff, clerk of court, tax commissioner, magistrate, and probate judge. While the B.O.C. controls the funds and works with the officers to set their budget, they cannot require budget reductions once the budgets, for those departments, have been set.