The Dalton City Council voted 4-0 Monday to approve a $49. 82 million 2026 general fund budget. The general fund pays for most of the city’s day-to-day operations. That is an increase of 9% from what was budgeted for 2025. Final numbers for 2025 have not come in yet. Mayor Annalee Sams typically votes only when there is a tie. The city’s fiscal year runs for Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. The budget projects revenue of $49. 82 million. That includes $802,000 taken from the city’s fund balance, a reserve the city keeps to cover emergency spending and to cover expenditures in December and January as property tax revenues begin to come in. The projected fund balance at the end of 2025 is expected to be $27,584,473. Sams said that the city may not have to take as much money out of the fund balance as the budget projects. “We are always conservative with our revenue estimates,” she said. “We always project flat sales tax revenue. But it typically increases. And if it does next year, we won’t have to rely on our fund balance as much.” The budget projects $25. 73 million in tax revenues, including $9. 1 million in property taxes and $16. 63 million in “other taxes,” which is predominately its share of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). The property taxes that fund this budget are the ones that will be collected next fall. Officials said they do not anticipate having to raise property tax rates next year to fund spending. The budget projects $18. 38 million in “transfers in.” That includes a $15. 55 million transfer from Dalton Utilities. The city requires the utility to transfer to it each year the larger of $10 million or 5% of its total revenue. It also includes a $2 million transfer from the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, which the city co-owns with Whitfield County. Personnel costs account for almost three-quarters of spending, which officials said is typical. The 2026 budget includes $37. 51 million for salaries and benefits, up from $34. 21 million in 2025. Personnel costs increased $3. 5 million from 2025. Of that, $2. 1 million is for increased wages due to implementing step and grade pay scale for the fire department and adding six full-time positions. Health insurance increased 35%, which is equivalent to $1. 3 million. Sams said the increase in health insurance costs were initially higher, but the city increased deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses and for the first time offered employees the option of a high-deductible account with health savings account, which will let employees set aside money tax free to cover healthcare costs. “Those actions helped us keep a large increase in healthcare costs from being even larger,” she said. Together, the police and fire departments account for 53% of spending. Those two, plus public works, account for 72% of spending in the 2026 budget. In the budget, the Dalton Police Department will get $13. 16 million, a 4. 7% increase from the 2025 budget. That will provide for full staffing of the police department at 90 sworn officers. The department has been approved for 90 officers for many years, but in recent years, due to retirements and other departures, it has rarely been fully staffed. It also funds three additional school resource officers for Dalton Public Schools. Together, the two budget items would bring the total number of sworn officers in the department to 93, according to officials. The budget provides $13. 18 million for the fire department, up 13. 57% from 2025. The Public Works Department will get $9. 41 million for 2026, up about 5% from the prior year. In addition, the budget will use $703,000 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds for paving projects. The Parks and Recreation Department will get $5. 48 million, up 17% from 2025.
https://daltoncitizen.com/2025/11/23/dalton-city-council-passes-2026-budget-fire-and-police-account-for-majority-of-spending/