County presented with FY26 financial report, take action on annexations

WARNER ROBINS — The Houston County Commissioners heard from Chief Financial Officer Danyelle George as she presented the first FY26 financial report for July to September. 

ARPA and SPLOST funds were not covered in the financial report. George said this is because the county is preparing a five-year capital plan, which will be presented at a later date. 

In George’s report, the General Fund for this quarter increased $1.3 million from last quarter. For expenses, George said no department in the county is over budget. Total expenditures are a total of $17 million this quarter, compared to $19.6 million last quarter. 

For E-911, revenue was down about $2 million, with expenditures being at $1.1 million. George said the fire revenue is almost the same as last quarter, with expenditures increased to $1.8 million compared to $1 million last quarter. 

Water fund revenue increased from $3.6 million to $4.1 million. George said they expected to see an increase due to the increased water rates. 

The revenue in the solid waste fund is down to $1.1 million, compared to last quarter at $1.6 million. George said the reason for this is due to county residents picking the services of their choice. 

“A lot have picked just the basic service, so it has cost them less and our revenue has gone down because of that in tune of about $425,000,” she said.

George added that their landfill use revenue has increased due to a rise in landfill fees.   

“I think it’s a very good quarter, especially because none of our departments are over budget,” she said. 

Chairman Dan Perdue said this is the first time the county has presented a quarterly financial report in a public meeting. 

In the old business, the Board took action on two annexations that were tabled at the Nov. 4 meeting. Both of these annexations take place on Lake Joy Road, the first being 7.45 acres on Lake Joy and Duskmoore Drive. 

Commissioner Shane Gottwals made a motion to non-concur with this annexation, due to density concerns and the change of zoning from existing to commercial. 

“To be clear, this will give more time to find the best solution,” Gotwalls said.

Perdue pointed out that the county has combined ordinances, making commercial development very difficult. 

“The county restricts commercial access from primarily residential roads which Duskmoore is, and the city does not desire any more curb cuts along Lake Joy which is understandable,” he said. “That would restrict commercial access to this piece of property which then, in turn, may conflict with the fire code which would necessitate access in an easier fashion into a possible commercial development.” 

The Board voted unanimously to non-concur with this annexation. 

One citizen spoke against the annexation and said that the neighborhood had no reason to deny any residential development on the property; however, the commercial aspect of the development is not something they agree with. 

“I am very grateful for you wanting to take more time and consider this. We really appreciate it,” the citizen said. 

The Board concurred with a similar annexation on Lake Joy Road containing almost 26 acres. 

Commissioner Tal Talton said the stipulations would be that the City of Warner Robins would sign an infrastructure agreement, a water study done to ensure the water mains are correctly sized for the delivery of fire flow, a traffic study to determine the impacts to Lake Joy Road and Beulah Church intersection, and all county utilities would stay with the county. 

Gottwals expressed support for the annexation, saying it was a best-case scenario.

“This is just one of those things where a lot of work went into it since it was brought forward, and this is an example of getting to the best outcome possible,” Gottwals said. “On the surface, the vote isn’t the favorable one for many, but I am very confident that this is the best outcome for this property.”

The next Houston County Commissioners meeting will be held Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 9 a.m., located at the Houston County Courthouse. The full agenda of this meeting can be found at www.houstoncountyga.gov/minutes/2025-11-18%20Department%20Head%20Copy.pdf