Laurens County Council Passes Budget on Third Reading, Hears Hours of Public Input
June 24, 2026
Laurens County Council passed its general budget on a third reading vote during a special called meeting that included public hearings on both the general budget and the fire budget.
During the public hearing on the general budget, resident Nancy Garrison questioned the millage rollbacks required this year. Council advised her that the county can draw on up to three years of unused millage to balance the budget, provided the millage was not designated for debt reserve or any special revenue fund.
The county administrator reviewed the budget process before the vote. The general budget passed with Councilmen Brownlee and Lane voting no. The fire budget passed unanimously, with no comments offered for or against it during its hearing.
Quarterly Public Input Session
The Laurens County Courthouse drew a full house for council’s quarterly public input session, where comments ran long and the crowd responded at times with cheers and boos.
Most of the comments centered on the newly mailed property assessments. Representatives from the Assessor’s Office assured residents that the assessments do not constitute a tax increase.
Other speakers raised concerns about the quality of county roads, the pace of new housing development and related issues. One attendee asked council to reject the name of a proposed subdivision.
Several residents questioned the county’s fee in lieu of taxes (FILOT) policy, which allows new industry to pay a negotiated fee rather than standard property taxes. Another resident said the road to his home was barely passable. Council responded that the road’s status as public or private would need to be investigated before any action could be taken.
One resident told council it had failed its citizens, criticizing the handling of the tax assessment, the millions spent on the courthouse and the disparity between paved roads in new subdivisions and the condition of his own road.
Other speakers pointed to past leadership. One blamed a previous council chair for what he described as failed policies, while another faulted former council members.
A resident new to the county spoke in favor of impact fees. The same speaker described the student to teacher ratio in county schools, citing a figure of 23 students to one teacher, as a problem and referenced a recent matter in which the county was reportedly targeted by a scam, expressing hope that taxpayer money would not be used to cover it. County Attorney Wes Meetz told the audience that no tax money would go toward that matter.
Closing the session, Council Chair Jeff Carroll told those in attendance that any issue within council’s power to address would be dealt with.
