Key Words
The words you'll hear when the council talks about the budget, in plain English.
What council voted to spend. A plan, not a result.
The city's money year: July 1 to June 30. FY2026 means July 2025 to June 2026.
The city's main account. Pays for police, fire, streets, parks and City Hall.
The city's utility accounts. They're paid mostly by utility bills.
An outside accountant checks the city's books after the year ends and confirms what the city actually took in and spent.
What a state agency paid out, like the monthly sales tax checks. Unaudited, but an official public record.
The written deal between the county and cities on who runs which service and who pays.
A written request to City Hall for a public record. Anyone can make one under Georgia law.
The day-to-day costs of running the city: salaries, fuel, electricity, supplies.
Money for things that last for years, like trucks, buildings and water lines. SPLOST can only pay for this kind.
A fund for a service the city runs like a business and pays for with customer bills. In Ashburn: water, sewer and gas.
What's left in a fund at the end of the year after the bills are paid. It's the city's savings cushion.
Payments on money the city borrowed: the amount borrowed plus interest.
A change to the budget after it's adopted. The council has to vote on it.
The property tax rate that would bring in the same money as last year once new property values are counted. In Georgia, a city that sets its rate higher has to advertise a tax increase and hold three public hearings.
A status from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that some state grants and loans require. The county's 2026 plan lists Ashburn as out of compliance on audits, which keeps the city from it.
Tax words like LOST, SPLOST and millage are in City Taxes: Key Words.
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.