Both the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners and Statesboro City Council were scheduled to adopt their respective local governments' budgets for fiscal year 2025 during their Tuesday, June 18, regular meetings, 8:30 a.m. for the county and 5:30 p.m. for the city.

Neither of the two local governing boards had an additional public-input budget hearing slated during these meetings. Instead, the budget hearings were held May 30 by the county and June 4 by the city.

Spending is projected to increase in both budgets, requiring some drawdown of general operations fund balances accumulated in recent years. In neither case will the property tax millage rate be set this week. That is done separately, possibly as late as September.

But a county millage rate rollback to at least a "revenue neutral" position — counteracting inflation in property assessments — has been proposed by County Manager Tom Couch.

Meanwhile, City Manager Charles Penny initially suggested a city millage tax increase to limit the potential drawdown in the city's general fund reserve. But during the June 4 hearing, he emphasized that the amount of real growth shown in the final tax digest will help the council determine how much of an increase, if any, is needed.

In addition to its budget resolution, Statesboro City Council is slated to vote on an annual "schedule of rates, fees and fines" that includes several fee increases, among them a 10% increase in most in-town sewer user fees and an increase in new water customer tap fees.