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James BurgessAshburn City Council

James Burgess for Ashburn City Council

City Budget · Where Ashburn's money comes from and where it goes

Checking the work

The budget and the audits

Bottom line: About $8.4 million a year across three accounts, last posted for 2024–25. The city is behind on its audits, which keeps it from some state grants.

$8,370,698 planned for July 2024 to June 2025

General FundWater & SewerGas
General Fund$5,262,653
Water & Sewer$1,907,440
Gas$1,200,605

The General Fund runs most of the city: police, fire, streets, parks, City Hall. Water/Sewer and Gas are paid mostly by utility bills.

The last two budgets

Both were adopted with no opposition. Their totals weren't posted online.

  • FY2027 (July 2026 to June 2027) was adopted July 2, 2026. The finance director said it includes no raises. Local news reported no tax increase.
  • The city took on the senior meals (Nutrition) program as its own department after regional funding for it ended.
  • FY2026 (July 2025 to June 2026) was adopted July 3, 2025. Vehicle and building insurance rose 24.8% at renewal that year.
  • July 2026: council approved leasing two fire trucks, paid $11,000 to $12,000 a month from the SPLOST account, and three police vehicles at $48,224 a year from the capital budget.

Where the audits stand

A budget is a plan. An audit is an outside accountant checking what actually happened. Georgia won't give state grants to a city that's behind on its audits.

  1. April 2021
    Audit for July 2019 to June 2020 completed. It's the most recent one posted online. Clean opinion on the numbers, with 11 problems flagged in how the books were kept.
  2. 2023
    The state audit office lists Ashburn as "audit report not received" three times (February, July, November).
  3. January 2026
    The state-approved county comprehensive plan says the city is out of compliance with audits, which blocks Qualified Local Government status.
  4. September 2026
    The city manager tells council the auditors are still working on the city's audits.

2019–20 General Fund: plan vs. actual

Money planned to come in$4,138,662
Money that came in$3,647,480
Spending planned$4,180,157
Spending actual$4,362,863
Left at year end$716,524

Fines came in about $658,000 under plan. Equipment leases covered most of the gap.

What the city owed, June 2020

Water & sewer bonds (paid off by 2032)$3,645,000
State water & sewer loans$1,370,420
Equipment leases$1,328,148
Pension shortfall$419,821
In the Ashburn Comeback Plan:7.3Get the Audits Caught Up, and Keep Them on Time1.4A Town Hall Before the Budget, not After

Compiled from public records as of October 22, 2026. Sales tax figures are unaudited state payment records; audits are the official word on what the city spent. For anything official, call City Hall at (229) 567-3431.

Paid for by James Burgess