Athens-Clarke County Manager Bob Cowell says the county will collect more tax dollars this year than originally predicted. That money could go towards boosting the county’s dwindling cash reserves.
During a commission work session Tuesday, County Manager Bob Cowell said that the county expects to collect an extra $1.6 million. He said some of the money will go to funding county employee salary increases and police pensions. Manager Cowell said the remainder should go back into the county’s fund balance, or reserves.
“The reason that recommendation is there is because as we move into building the new judicial center - the stronger our fund balance, the better that will be viewed by our credit rating agencies,” he said.
Construction on the county’s new judicial center is slated to begin in 2028.
Manager Cowell and Mayor Kelly Girtz originally proposed that next year’s budget, which begins this summer, would draw about $4 million from the fund balance.
