Every year, Chatham County Commission votes to approve a budget for the County Government. This annual spending agreement determines how much money each county program, department and initiative are allowed to spend in the coming year.

Much like personal budgets, the county must weigh the priorities of the local government with the resources available to achieve them. The budget also shows where the funding for these priorities comes from. It dictates how the county provides services, both in Unincorporated Chatham and in Chatham County as a whole.

And most importantly, it’s all publicly available. That means everyone, from residents to our county commissioners, has the ability to check where the money came from, what programs are being funding, and the expected outcomes of that spending.

Chatham County’s budget cycle runs from July 1st to June 30^th, and our Fiscal Year 25-26 budget was approved by Chatham County Commission on Friday, June 27.

This is how Chatham County will prioritize its funding this year.

 

General Fund

The biggest portion of Chatham County’s budget is the Maintenance and Operation budget, also called the General Fund, which funds the many departments that make up your county government.

This year, the budget for the general fund will be $311,394,068, which is a 4.31% increase over last year's budget, but the millage rate remains the same at 10.518 mills. The millage rate determines the amount of property tax money collected by the county.

Even though the millage rate for the general fund is the same this year, means the County is expected to bring in more money, since property values have increased since last year.

The general fund will pay for services throughout the county, including the facilitation of Elections, Animal Services, Parks and many other critical services.

 

Special Service District

The second largest piece of the budget funds the services we provide to the Unincorporated area of Chatham County. We call this the Special Service District fund, or SSD.

The SSD budget this year is $73,175,274, which is a 26.52% increase. This reflects the elimination of the Fire Fee, which was the funding mechanism for Fire Services prior to this year. Now, residents of Unincorporated Chatham will pay for fire services through their property taxes, instead of a separate bill.

The removal of the fire fee will be partially offset by a 2 mill increase in Unincorporated Chatham, which constitutes a 48.99% increase in property taxes levied in the Special Service District fund.

Despite this increase, 82% of Unincorporated Chatham residents will still see a decrease in their total cost when compared to previous years, when those residents paid both property taxes and a fire fee. Use our online tool to look up your address.

The SSD fund helps pay for services including police, fire, and road improvement projects that increase the quality of life for residents living in unincorporated areas of Chatham.

 

A Commitment to Serving You

This budget represents Chatham County Government’s commitment to providing our residents with safe neighborhoods, reliable services, and a thriving community.

The goal of our annual budget is to make wise investments to improve the safety, economy and overall quality of life for all residents of Chatham County.

Residents are encouraged to dive deeper into the entire 100-page budget book, which is available to the public at chathamcountyga.gov.