Augusta commissioners will return to the table Tuesday for a pre-Thanksgiving session aimed at closing a projected $21 million deficit in the 2026 budget, a shortfall driven by rising public safety costs, higher operating expenses and the end of federal pandemic relief funds that helped balance recent budgets.
With Georgia law barring local governments from starting the year in a deficit, the commission was expected to approve a plan last week. Instead, it recessed the meeting and will reconvene today to continue deliberations.
Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice said the commission needs to act so it can move on to other city business, but she expects fallout once a decision is made.
“We are the Grinch at Christmastime. Not everyone is going to get a present this year,” Rice said. “We have got to do what is best for taxpayers and lately they feel that we have not.”
Administrator Tameka Allen has outlined several paths to balancing the budget. A two-mill property tax increase — which would generate about $16 million — is the largest option on the table. For a $200,000 owner-occupied home, that would add about $150 in city taxes, not including the school portion that accounts for roughly 66% of a typical tax bill.
Anything less would require significant reductions. Allen’s proposal calls for 30% cuts to outside agencies, such as the Greater Augusta Arts Council, 3% cuts across city departments, reduced funding for Housing and Community Development and the Richmond County Correctional Institution and eliminating six filled positions.
She also presented an alternative: raising taxes by one mill solely for the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. That would still require 6.5% cuts and the elimination of 60-90 positions.
If the commission opts against any tax increase, the cuts grow steeper. Department budgets would need to be reduced by more than 10% and between 120 and 240 jobs would be eliminated. Excluding elected officials from reductions would push departmental cuts to 24.75%, Allen said.
To date, commissioners have only agreed on about $1.7 million in reductions, coming from Housing and Community Development, Augusta Transit and higher employee insurance contributions.
Commissioners have also floated a few revenue ideas, including an excise tax on energy used in manufacturing. The proposal is opposed by local industry but could bring in several million dollars.
The city could also seek voter approval for a new .5% sales tax, which officials estimate would raise $23.75 million, though not immediately. Augusta’s total sales tax rate is now 8.5%.
