AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – It was the one two punch for commissioners: rising employee health care costs and paying back the federal government for mismanaging housing grants that has the budget bleeding red.“The last thing we want to do is raise property taxes but I don’t see any money trees out there that money is falling off, when we’re looking at a deficit or a shortfall,” said Commissioner Tony Lewis.That has the administrator offering up a tax increase to fill the nearly $11 million dollar gap.It would add another $90 dollars of taxes on the averaged priced home, but some commissioners don’t want to pile on taxpayers.
“We’re going up on our trash, streetlights, we’re going to have to do something with that. I hate to hit the citizens up with property taxes as well,” said Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice.
The city could make deep budget cuts or go deep into the reserves to balance this year’s budget.“If we go into reserves, we’re going to do more than look at it next year. We’re going to have to tighten our belts and do some other things that we probably don’t want to talk about we’re going to have to talk about it,” said Commissioner Francine Scott…