Baldwin begins FY 2027 budget overhaul amid discovery of prior-year accounting gaps

BALDWIN, Ga. — Baldwin officials spent a May 19 special-called meeting rebuilding the city’s draft FY 2027 budget line by line as a newly hired finance director identified prior-year allocation issues and outlined a shift toward monthly reporting, fund-level transparency and real-time financial tracking.

City Manager Tiera Morrison and Finance Director Angela Adams presented a draft budget showing roughly $8.3 million to $8.4 million in projected revenues against about $8.7 million in expenditures, a reduction from the prior year’s budget of just over $9 million. Morrison said the figures remained in flux throughout the meeting, noting adjustments were still being made as recently as hours before the session.

“It changed two hours ago,” Morrison said of the most recent revisions.

Adams, who began her role less than a week before the meeting, said the draft budget reflects ongoing reconciliation work across multiple funds and departments as staff review bank statements, accounting systems and historical entries.

“So I need to be able to give you data that you then can make decisions on behalf of your constituents and stakeholders,” Adams said. “We are going to be very transparent.”

Prior-year discrepancies and reallocations

Throughout the meeting, Adams and Morrison described inconsistencies in prior-year budgeting, including misaligned revenue projections, reallocated expenditures and items that had not been properly recorded in line-item form.

Adams said approximately $250,000 in expenses would need to be accounted for in the upcoming budget cycle due to prior-year allocation issues.

Among the corrections discussed was a fire truck payment that had not been properly budgeted in a prior fiscal year and was instead covered through a combination of funds, including roughly $74,000 from the school speed zone fund and $57,000 from the general fund.

Baldwin Police Chief Chris Jones said some of the confusion stemmed from timing and accounting transitions in prior years, noting that certain revenues and deposits were not consistently entered during earlier periods.

Radios, ARPA funds and capital costs

The meeting also surfaced significant capital cost adjustments for public safety equipment, including radio systems for both fire and police departments.

Adams said the draft budget includes approximately $140,000 for fire department radios and $110,000 for police radios, figures that were significantly higher than earlier estimates discussed in prior planning cycles.

Jones said the departments had originally been told funding would be covered through American Rescue Plan Act allocations and other one-time funding sources, but delays and shifting timelines changed those assumptions.

“As we got closer to time, that ARPA funds were running out,” Jones said.

Fire Chief Ross Jackson said the final fire radio costs came in significantly higher than earlier expectations, which had been based on preliminary estimates provided during prior budget planning cycles.

“The numbers that we received that you guys saw in last year’s budget were given to us,” Jackson said.

Jackson said once the updated vendor invoice arrived confirming the higher price, the department immediately recognized the funding challenge.

“So we immediately fell on the floor and said, where are we going to come up with this money,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the department had initially expected much lower costs before receiving finalized pricing and updated quotes from vendors and county communications officials.

Shift to monthly reporting and financial dashboard

Adams said the city is moving toward a “true forecast budget model” with ongoing reconciliation rather than static annual projections. She said staff will begin producing full monthly financial statements beginning July 1, including balance sheets and fund-level reporting across general, enterprise, capital and grant funds.

She also outlined plans for a financial dashboard system that would allow council members to track revenues and expenditures in near real time.

“You will have a full schedule of financial statements every single month, without fail,” Adams said.

Adams said the system is intended to improve transparency and allow for earlier identification of discrepancies.

Fund balance concerns and staffing transition

Adams also addressed the importance of maintaining a healthy fund balance, saying a three-month reserve — roughly 24% of annual expenditures — is a standard benchmark for local governments.

She said falling below that level limits a city’s ability to respond to emergencies or revenue fluctuations.

“It does not allow for anything to happen, and we all know that in this world things happen,” Adams said.

City officials also said the city is in the process of hiring a staff accountant to reduce reliance on an outside CPA firm currently assisting with financial operations. Morrison said the firm would likely be used only through the end of the fiscal year before the city transitions fully to in-house accounting.

Timeline for budget adoption

Officials said the budget process remains in flux, with continued revisions expected over the coming weeks.

Morrison said she hopes to have a more finalized version of the FY 2027 budget ready by the June 16 council meeting.

“I would like to be at a place where we are saying that this is truly what we’re proposing,” Morrison said.

Mayor Doug Faust said the city will continue working through corrections before bringing broader public discussion into the process.

“We have issues, we’re solving for the problem,” Faust said. “We’re going to come back with more information all the time, creating a more accurate budget.”

Faust also said officials are still evaluating when a public hearing or town hall might be appropriate, noting that the city wants to avoid presenting incomplete or inaccurate financial data.

“What I want to do is have a positive meeting that has accurate data,” he said.

Council reaction

Council members said the meeting reflected both the challenges and progress of the ongoing budget reconstruction.

Councilman Joe Elam said the shifting financial picture underscored the need for continued scrutiny of city spending and revenue assumptions.

“I am optimistic that there’s a path to help right-size this budget,” Elam said after the meeting. “And I am going to fight very hard for just that to happen.”

Councilman Tope thanked staff for their work through the process, acknowledging the complexity of the revisions.

“I know this is not an easy task,” he said.

Officials said additional updates are expected ahead of the June 2 council meeting, though the budget is expected to continue evolving until at least mid-June.