Bibb County public hearing on budget draws no residents | Politics | Macon.com

No Bibb County residents showed up for Thursday morning’s public hearing on the county’s fiscal 2014 budget.

County commissioners are scheduled to formally adopt the budget at 9 a.m. June 27.

Though commissioners have spent the past several weeks putting together a spending plan that will cover the entire fiscal year, the budget they’ll approve next week covers just the first half of the year — July 1 to Dec. 31.

The new consolidated Macon-Bibb County government begins operations on Jan. 1, absorbing both the city and county budgets for the remainder of fiscal 2014.

Commissioners put together an $86.8 million general fund budget for the upcoming year. With projected revenues of $79 million, that would leave a shortfall of about $7.7 million. That gap would be covered by the county’s reserves, which now stand at about $29 million.

The budget for the first half of fiscal 2014 that commissioners will actually approve is $59.8 million. Finance Director Debra Martin said the first half budget is higher because a lot of the county’s annual contracts are typically paid at the beginning of the new fiscal year. In addition, certain expenses — new sheriff’s uniforms, for example — have to be purchased before Jan. 1.

via Bibb County public hearing on budget draws no residents | Politics | Macon.com.