Overview
Dawson County's FY2026 budget is a balanced, revenue-based budget, in the Chairman's words, supplemented by the prudent use of fund balance where appropriate. The County states it has consistently taken a conservative approach to budgeting, and that FY2026 is no exception — even as inflationary pressures raise the cost of providing services.
The headline story is a split one: the General Fund grows 6.2% to $51,853,415, driven by salary and benefit costs, while the all-funds total falls 10.9% to $87,519,499 — because SPLOST spending drops sharply as SPLOST collections near completion. The General Fund is balanced using $9,989,309 of fund balance (up from $7,624,230 budgeted in FY2025), leaving a projected unassigned fund balance of approximately $7.5 million, about 15% of General Fund expenditures, at December 31, 2026. The County's own reserve target is an unassigned General Fund balance between 15% and 25%, or about three months of operating expenditures.
On taxes: the FY2025 county government tax rate was 5.4630 mills countywide, unchanged from the prior year, with no separate incorporated-area levy. The 2025 tax levy, which provides revenue for FY2026, totals $16,657,349. The tax digest (total assessed property value) rose from $2,965,212,443 in 2024 to $3,049,121,178 in 2025, an increase of 2.83%.
Source: Dawson County 2026 Budget Guide, Chairman's Message and Executive Summary — FY2026 Budget Guide (PDF).
At a glance — FY2026 adopted
Source: 2026 Budget Guide, Executive Summary, Budget for All Funds, and Position Summary — FY2026 Budget Guide (PDF).
General Fund — FY2026 adopted
The General Fund is the County's chief operating fund. Its adopted budget of $51,853,415 is $3,031,903 (6.2%) above FY2025. Salaries and benefits alone account for $36,007,609 — up $2,620,106 (7.8%) — including $971,000 for merit and longevity increases, five new full-time positions (three Firefighter/Paramedics, one Network Administrator II, one Assistant Public Works Director for Capital Projects), and a retirement match raised from 5% to 6% in 2025 and continued in FY2026. Health insurance is budgeted at $6,024,279, up $1,261,761 (26.5%).
Expenditures by category — $51,853,415
| Category | FY2026 adopted |
|---|---|
| Personal services / employee benefits | $36,007,609 |
| Purchased / contract services | $6,681,845 |
| Supplies | $3,515,850 |
| Capital outlays | $0 |
| Interfund / department charges | $665,000 |
| Other costs | $2,132,422 |
| Debt service | $341,000 |
| Other financing uses (transfers out) | $2,509,689 |
| Total | $51,853,415 |
Sum check: the eight lines above add exactly to $51,853,415 (capital outlays are shown as a dash, i.e. $0, in the guide's 2026 column).
Expenditures by function — $51,853,415
| Function | FY2026 adopted |
|---|---|
| General government | $10,080,882 |
| Judicial | $5,705,843 |
| Sheriff | $15,669,777 |
| Public safety | $10,361,177 |
| Public works | $2,461,081 |
| Health & welfare | $416,065 |
| Culture & recreation | $2,873,352 |
| Housing & development | $1,775,549 |
| Other financing uses | $2,509,689 |
| Total | $51,853,415 |
Sum check: the nine lines above add exactly to $51,853,415, matching the by-category total. The Sheriff's Office is the largest function at $15,669,777, followed by public safety at $10,361,177 and general government at $10,080,882.
Revenues by category — $51,853,415
| Source | FY2026 adopted |
|---|---|
| Property tax | $15,753,200 |
| Sales tax | $12,255,000 |
| Other taxes | $6,518,000 |
| Licenses & permits | $1,580,850 |
| Intergovernmental revenues | $576,200 |
| Charges for service | $2,979,026 |
| Fines & forfeitures | $523,000 |
| Investment income | $1,312,300 |
| Miscellaneous revenue | $165,170 |
| Other financing sources | $10,190,669 |
| Total | $51,853,415 |
Sum check: the ten lines above add exactly to $51,853,415. Note that "other financing sources" ($10,190,669) includes the $9,989,309 of fund balance used to balance the budget; the two are not additive — fund balance is part of, not in addition to, that line.
Transfers out of the General Fund — $2,509,689
| Destination | FY2026 adopted |
|---|---|
| Multiple Grant Fund | $896,263 |
| E-911 Fund | $786,170 |
| Fleet / Fuel Fund | $564,319 |
| Capital Projects Fund | $166,500 |
| Family Connection | $96,437 |
| Total transfers out | $2,509,689 |
Sum check: the five transfers add exactly to $2,509,689, matching the "other financing uses" line in both expenditure tables above. Transfers out are down $16,389 (0.7%) from FY2025.
Source: 2026 Budget Guide, Executive Summary and 2026 Expenditures / Revenues tables (pp. 14, 18–21) — FY2026 Budget Guide (PDF).
All funds — FY2026 adopted
The all-funds budget of $87,519,499 is $10,706,793 (10.9%) below the original FY2025 budget of $98,226,292. The guide attributes the decrease primarily to reduced SPLOST expenditures as collections near completion: SPLOST VII falls from $27,209,000 to $14,300,000, and SPLOST VI, budgeted at $1,610,000 in FY2025, is budgeted at $0 in FY2026 (its projects are complete and remaining funds are expected to be fully expended in FY2026).
| Fund | FY2026 adopted | FY2025 original |
|---|---|---|
| General | $51,853,415 | $48,821,512 |
| Capital Projects | $166,500 | $205,000 |
| SPLOST VI | $0 | $1,610,000 |
| SPLOST VII | $14,300,000 | $27,209,000 |
| T-SPLOST | $12,200,000 | $12,200,000 |
| DA Forfeiture | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Drug Abuse Treatment & Education | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| E-911 | $1,431,370 | $1,400,316 |
| Family Connection | $152,687 | $175,688 |
| Hotel Motel Tax | $900,000 | $855,000 |
| Probation Services | $136,450 | $— |
| Inmate Welfare | $107,500 | $85,000 |
| Jail Fund | $43,000 | $40,000 |
| Law Library | $22,000 | $22,000 |
| Sheriff's Seizure | $7,000 | $10,700 |
| Multiple Grants | $2,720,718 | $2,468,161 |
| Victim Rights | $21,340 | $19,000 |
| Impact fees | $2,020,000 | $1,735,000 |
| Inmate Escrow | $80,000 | $80,000 |
| Fuel & Fleet | $565,619 | $508,015 |
| Solid Waste Fund | $765,000 | $755,000 |
| Total all funds | $87,519,499 | $98,226,292 |
Sum check: the 21 FY2026 fund lines above (SPLOST VI counted as $0, as shown by a dash in the guide) add exactly to $87,519,499. Probation Services shows a dash for FY2025 in the guide (no FY2025 original budget shown), so no FY2025 comparison is stated for it.
Beyond the General Fund, the two sales-tax funds dominate: SPLOST VII ($14,300,000) and TSPLOST ($12,200,000) together are $26,500,000, about 30% of the all-funds total. The guide also budgets $2,020,000 in impact-fee funding for Library, Parks, Fire, and Road expansion projects.
Source: 2026 Budget Guide, Budget for All Funds (p. 22) — FY2026 Budget Guide (PDF).
Debt & capital
Dawson County has exactly one debt outstanding, per the guide: the 2012 Etowah Water and Sewer Authority bonds, issued to expand water service in the county, to be paid off in 2027. Its FY2026 debt-service budget line is $341,000.
Amortization schedule — all debt
| Year | Principal |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $315,000 |
| 2027 | $705,000 |
| Total principal | $1,020,000 |
The full schedule (principal $1,020,000 + interest $35,964 = $1,055,964) breaks down as $340,530 in 2026 ($315,000 principal + $25,530 interest) and $715,434 in 2027 ($705,000 principal + $10,434 interest). The guide's own debt-margin table (amounts in thousands) shows net debt applicable to the limit falling from $2,200 in 2022 to $1,020 in 2026 (estimated), against a 2026 debt limit of $320,158 — 0.32% of the limit. The County's bond rating is AA (S&P) and Aa2 (Moody's).
Disclosure — $470 difference: the General Fund debt-service budget line is $341,000, while the amortization schedule's 2026 total is $340,530 — a $470 gap between two figures in the same guide. Both are shown as printed; neither was adjusted to force agreement.
Capital Projects Fund — $166,500
| Project | FY2026 adopted |
|---|---|
| Four-post drive-on lift (Fleet Services) | $81,500 |
| Replacement of two boilers (Sheriff's Office — Detention Center) | $60,000 |
| Upfitting an Animal Control vehicle (Code Enforcement) | $25,000 |
| Total Capital Projects Fund | $166,500 |
Sum check: $81,500 + $60,000 + $25,000 = $166,500 exactly.
SPLOST VII projects funded in FY2026 — $14,300,000
| Project | Amount |
|---|---|
| Public Works — Road projects | $4,000,000 |
| Contingency | $7,180,000 |
| City of Dawsonville — distribution of SPLOST VII revenues | $1,620,000 |
| Public Works — Machinery & equipment | $450,000 |
| County Administration — Vehicles | $400,000 |
| Information Technology — IT equipment | $400,000 |
| Sheriff's — Vehicles | $250,000 |
| Total SPLOST VII fund budget | $14,300,000 |
Sum check: the seven lines above add exactly to $14,300,000. SPLOST VII was approved March 16, 2021, with collections from July 1, 2021 estimated at $60,000,000 over six years; the County receives 88% and the City of Dawsonville 12% after Level 2 countywide projects. The guide's separate SPLOST VII project list totals $60,000,000 ($45,320,000 county projects + $6,180,000 city projects + $8,500,000 Level 2 projects).
TSPLOST projects funded in FY2026 — $12,200,000
| Project | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contingency | $6,791,427 |
| Public Works — Cowart Road | $2,500,000 |
| Public Works — Elliott Road | $999,573 |
| Public Works — Longview Drive | $750,000 |
| City of Dawsonville — distribution of TSPLOST revenues | $600,000 |
| Public Works — Hanging Dog Road | $309,000 |
| Public Works — TSPLOST project management | $250,000 |
| Total TSPLOST fund budget | $12,200,000 |
Sum check: the seven lines above add exactly to $12,200,000. TSPLOST II was approved May 21, 2024, with collections from October 1, 2024 estimated at $68,700,000 over five years; the County receives 95% and the City of Dawsonville 5%. The guide lists Lumpkin Campground Road at SR 53 as "TBD" — it carries no dollar amount and is not counted in the $12,200,000 total.
Source: 2026 Budget Guide, Capital Improvement Program, Debt, SPLOST, and TSPLOST sections (pp. 58–63) — FY2026 Budget Guide (PDF).
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Dawson County, Georgia, 2026 Budget Guide — Fiscal Year 2026 budget adopted November 20, 2025. Read the Budget Guide (PDF, UGA TED portal).
- Sum checks: every breakdown table on this page was added up before publishing; each shown total equals the sum of its shown parts, except for the disclosed $470 debt-service gap in the guide itself (budget line $341,000 vs. amortization-schedule 2026 total $340,530).
- What is missing: this page has no audited actuals, no FY2025 actuals, and no population or service-level figures — the Budget Guide is a budget document, and none were invented. The $7.5 million projected unassigned fund balance at December 31, 2026 is the guide's own approximate projection, quoted as approximate.
- Identity: this is the Dawson County dashboard. The City of Dawsonville appears only as a recipient of SPLOST VII (12%) and TSPLOST (5%) distributions; it has its own separate dashboard.
- County palette: no high- or medium-confidence Dawson County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Peach State Pulse dark-glass theme rather than a county color.