VALDOSTA — The county manager called the proposed Lowndes County budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18 austere, but for a good reason.

At a county board of commissioners meeting Monday morning, county leaders discussed the completed proposed budget for the first time, before going into the first of two public hearings that have yet to be scheduled. The board received almost $9 million in requests from its departments.

The lion’s share of those requests were denied. 

“Commissioners, I realize that this is a very difficult budget,” Joe Pritchard, county manager, said. “There are a number of things that each of you throughout the year have spoken about that you hoped we would be able to do, and you can see by the budget that those items are not there. The revenue is not there.”

Pritchard said the budget is as good as it can be considering the factors the county has had to deal with and also keeping in mind potential emergencies such as sinkholes or bad weather.

Items that were denied included requests from 11 new positions across county departments — with only one being added — and 21 position upgrades requested with none being included in the budget plan. 

The proposed budget total revenues are $102,699,667 and the total expenditures are $103,642,720. The difference between those two numbers is a negative $943,053 and will be paid for from previous years’ revenue, county leaders explained. 

Board of Commissioners Chairman Bill Slaughter said not everyone got what they wanted out of the budget, but at the end of the day, each department received everything it needs to provide residents with services they require. 

“Again, it is a very difficult process,” Slaughter said. 

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256