Hall County to host budget open house

GAINESVILLE - Hall County will host a "budget open house" on a draft of the budget for the coming fiscal year next week.

The session will run from 4:30-7:00 Tuesday May 1 at the Georgia Mountains Center. The format will be drop-in, meaning members of the public are welcome to stop by and talk with individual department heads about their respective budgets. There will, however, be a formal presentation at 5:30 explaining the overall county budget and approval process.

In recent years, each department has presented its budget requests to a Budget Committee made up of administrative staff and commissioners, and the public was welcome to attend those meetings. This year, however, the county will conduct an evening open house to allow for more public involvement.

"I hope this change will provide an opportunity for more citizen interaction, as well as an opportunity to educate the public about each department's budget and the services they provide," County Administrator Randy Knighton said.

Question/comment forms will be available at the open house and online at www.hallcounty.org/budget. Draft budget details will be available May 1 at www.hallcounty.org/budget or in the Finance Department from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday at the Courthouse Annex at 116 Spring Street.

The Hall County Board of Commissioners must approve a budget by June 30, as the new fiscal year begins July 1.