Overview
Bainbridge is the county seat of Decatur County, and it runs far more than a general government: alongside police, streets and general government, the City operates four enterprise utilities — Water & Sewer, Natural Gas, Sanitation, and Telecommunications. That is why this dashboard has two lenses throughout: the governmentwide view (everything, accrual basis) and the fund view (spendable resources, fund by fund).
The headline for FY2025 is a split story. The City as a whole lost net position — down $2,463,171 on the audited statements, from $62,121,555 to $59,658,384 — while the General Fund itself grew, adding $1,203,378 to reach $5,235,387. The governmentwide decline was driven by governmental activities (down $1,815,843) plus business-type activities (down $647,328), even though the enterprise funds earned $3,087,778 on operations: large transfers out of the Water & Sewer fund more than erased that operating gain.
Source: City of Bainbridge FY2025 Financial Report, Statement of Net Position (p. 13), Statement of Activities (pp. 14–15), governmental funds statement (pp. 18–19), proprietary funds statements (pp. 21–22) — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
At a glance — FY2025 audited
Source: FY2025 audit, Statement of Net Position and Management's Discussion and Analysis (capital assets and debt) — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
Net position — September 30, 2025
Net position is what remains after liabilities and deferred inflows are subtracted from assets and deferred outflows. Each column below sums exactly to its total. Note the negative unrestricted balance for business-type activities: the enterprise funds' capital investment exceeds their total net position, so their unrestricted position is a deficit of $1,456,192.
| Component | City total |
|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $56,641,853 |
| Restricted | $1,853,683 |
| Unrestricted | $1,162,848 |
| Total net position | $59,658,384 |
| Net position by activity | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $32,442,871 | $24,198,982 | $56,641,853 |
| Restricted | $1,853,683 | $0 | $1,853,683 |
| Unrestricted | $2,619,040 | −$1,456,192 | $1,162,848 |
| Total | $36,915,594 | $22,742,790 | $59,658,384 |
Restricted detail, governmental activities only (sums to the $1,853,683 above): capital projects $849,344, public safety $587,629, debt service $241,786, general government $174,924.
Change in net position — FY2025
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beginning net position, Oct 1, 2024 | $62,121,555 |
| Governmental activities change | −$1,815,843 |
| Business-type activities change | −$647,328 |
| Ending net position, Sep 30, 2025 | $59,658,384 |
Source: Statement of Net Position, p. 13, and Statement of Activities, pp. 14–15 — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
General Fund — FY2025 actuals vs. budget
The General Fund is the City's chief operating fund. It took in $11,082,111 and spent $15,737,210 — a $4,655,099 operating deficiency that was more than covered by $5,858,477 of other financing sources, so the fund balance grew by $1,203,378. Against the final amended budget, revenues came in $173 over and expenditures $390,314 under (final budget $16,127,524 vs. actual $15,737,210).
Revenues — $11,082,111
| Source | Actual |
|---|---|
| Taxes | $8,569,822 |
| Licenses and permits | $425,999 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,287,878 |
| Charges for services | $144,075 |
| Fines and forfeitures | $334,894 |
| Investment earnings | $43,459 |
| Other revenues | $275,984 |
| Total revenues | $11,082,111 |
Expenditures — $15,737,210
| Function | Actual |
|---|---|
| General government | $2,583,758 |
| Judicial (city court) | $355,662 |
| Public safety | $5,533,801 |
| Public works | $5,153,578 |
| Community development | $1,383,852 |
| Debt service — principal | $701,083 |
| Debt service — interest | $25,476 |
| Total expenditures | $15,737,210 |
Fund balance walk
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beginning balance, Oct 1, 2024 | $4,032,009 |
| Revenues over (under) expenditures | −$4,655,099 |
| Other financing sources, net | $5,858,477 |
| Ending balance, Sep 30, 2025 | $5,235,387 |
Of that ending balance, $2,451,924 is unassigned — 15.58% of General Fund expenditures (the audit's narrative rounds this to 16%). The balance is otherwise tied up in nonspendable items: inventories $68,561, prepaid items $185,693, notes receivable $912,757, and long-term interfund advances $1,616,452, plus $849,344 restricted for capital projects.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances, pp. 18–19, and General Fund Budget and Actual schedule, pp. 68–69 — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
All governmental funds — FY2025
Beyond the General Fund, the City reports the SPLOST VII and TSPLOST capital-project funds as major funds, plus nonmajor funds (including the Local Relief Fund) and the blended Public Facilities Authority. Every row below sums across to its total; the combined "all other" row is derived from the audit's total minus the three named funds and is shown so the table reconciles exactly.
| Fund | Revenues | Expenditures | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $11,082,111 | $15,737,210 | $5,235,387 |
| SPLOST VII Fund | $2,538,875 | $2,188,501 | $849,344 |
| TSPLOST Fund | $2,125,677 | $2,136,175 | $240,236 |
| All other governmental funds + Authority (derived) | $2,102,288 | $4,133,578 | $742,317 |
| Total governmental funds | $17,848,951 | $24,195,464 | $7,067,284 |
Combined, the governmental funds spent $6,346,513 more than they took in on operations ($17,848,951 − $24,195,464), partly offset by $5,907,241 of other financing sources, for a net fund-balance decrease of $439,272 — from $7,506,556 to $7,067,284. The Local Relief Fund alone ended the year in deficit, at −$21,786, against nonmajor funds of $764,103.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances, pp. 18–19, and Governmental Funds Balance Sheet, pp. 16–17 — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
Enterprise funds — FY2025
The City's four business-type funds earned $3,087,778 on operations combined — but transfers, mainly out of Water & Sewer, turned that into a $647,328 governmentwide decrease for business-type activities. Telecommunications is the standout on paper: a small operating loss became a $4,174,310 net-position gain after $4,289,858 of transfers in.
Operating revenues — $15,374,053
| Fund | Charges for services | Other revenues | Total operating revenues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water & Sewer | $7,252,824 | $215,069 | $7,467,893 |
| Natural Gas | $1,910,061 | $111,181 | $2,021,242 |
| Sanitation | $4,944,783 | $112,730 | $5,057,513 |
| Telecommunications | $801,008 | $26,397 | $827,405 |
| Total | $14,908,676 | $465,377 | $15,374,053 |
Operating results and net position
| Fund | Operating expenses | Operating income (loss) | Change in net position | Ending net position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water & Sewer | $4,858,893 | $2,609,000 | −$5,160,002 | $415,672 |
| Natural Gas | $2,274,158 | −$252,916 | $776,169 | $6,061,695 |
| Sanitation | $4,205,220 | $852,293 | −$418,181 | $508,783 |
| Telecommunications | $948,004 | −$120,599 | $4,174,310 | $15,672,620 |
| Total enterprise funds | $12,286,275 | $3,087,778 | −$627,704 | $22,658,770 |
Enterprise-fund net position of $22,658,770 plus an $84,020 internal-service consolidation adjustment equals the governmentwide business-type net position of $22,742,790. Every enterprise fund carries a negative unrestricted position — Water & Sewer −$3,023,048, Natural Gas −$470,927, Sanitation −$577,656, Telecommunications −$1,580,667 — meaning their capital investment, not spendable resources, is what holds their net position up.
Source: Proprietary Funds Statements of Net Position (p. 21) and of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Fund Net Position (p. 22) — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
Debt & capital assets
The City's total debt, net of premium, was $86,755,636 at September 30, 2025, down $260,439 during the year. Almost all of it sits in the Water & Sewer enterprise: bonds payable of $63,556,919 (non-current) in that fund alone, against a governmentwide bonds-payable total of $87,313,420 ($1,140,000 due within one year plus $86,173,420 due later).
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total debt, net of premium (governmentwide) | $86,755,636 |
| Decrease during FY2025 | $260,439 |
| Bonds payable — due within one year | $1,140,000 |
| Bonds payable — due in more than one year | $86,173,420 |
| Bonds payable — total | $87,313,420 |
Capital assets, net of accumulated depreciation — $147,389,937
| Category | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction in progress | $4,472,896 | $17,844,841 | $22,317,737 |
| Land | $5,241,439 | $109,267 | $5,350,706 |
| Buildings and improvements | $27,657,868 | $90,740,213 | $118,398,081 |
| Machinery and equipment | $10,166,027 | $4,145,145 | $14,311,172 |
| Infrastructure | $37,186,492 | $0 | $37,186,492 |
| Less accumulated depreciation | −$24,408,750 | −$25,765,501 | −$50,174,251 |
| Total capital assets, net | $60,315,972 | $87,073,965 | $147,389,937 |
This capital-asset total excludes lease assets, net ($1,148,919 governmentwide), which the Statement of Net Position reports separately. Major FY2025 additions included $1,323,071 of gas lines in the Downrange Industrial Park, $621,220 for ten public-safety vehicles, $400,253 for River Connectivity, $296,109 for the Tallahassee Highway water-line extension, and $69,893 for a public-safety generator.
Questions about the report itself may be addressed to the Division of Administrative Services, P.O. Box 158, Bainbridge, GA 39818, per the audit's "Requests for Information" notice. Elected officials at September 30, 2025: Mayor Edward Reynolds; Board of Aldermen Keenan Adams, Glennie Bench, Sylvia Washington, Kregg Close, Roslyn Palmer, and Don Whaley; City Manager Roy Oliver.
Source: Management's Discussion and Analysis (capital assets and debt) and Statement of Net Position, p. 13 — audited FY2025 report (PDF).
Sources & notes
- Only source used: City of Bainbridge, Georgia, Financial Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 (audited; Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC). Read the audit (PDF, UGA TED portal).
- Not used: no FY2026 adopted budget figure appears anywhere on this page — the FY2026 adopted budget document itself was not verified (only a public notice was found), so the page is built from the FY2025 audit only.
- Sum checks: every breakdown table on this page was added up before publishing; each shown total equals the sum of its shown parts.
- Disclosed discrepancy inside the audit (read this before quoting the MD&A): the Management's Discussion and Analysis highlights state total net position of $59,498,804 and a decrease of $2,622,751, and a General Fund increase of $164,338 — but the audited statements themselves show $59,658,384, a decrease of $2,463,171 (beginning $62,121,555), and a General Fund increase of $1,203,378 ($4,032,009 to $5,235,387). The gap is exactly $159,580 in every case and sits entirely in governmental activities (the MD&A's governmental net position of $36,756,014 vs. the statement's $36,915,594). This page uses the audited statement figures throughout, because they sum exactly from their components. The MD&A's original General Fund budget figure ($15,772,497) likewise differs by $134 from the budget schedule's $15,772,363; the schedule figure is used here.
- What is missing: this page has no current-year budget, no FY2026 actuals, and no population, staffing, or service-level figures — the FY2025 audit does not supply them in a form used here, and none were invented. A newer verified document would be needed to update this dashboard.
- City palette: no high- or medium-confidence City of Bainbridge palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Peach State Pulse dark-glass theme rather than a city color.