CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County commissioners on Monday approved changes to the county budget built on roughly $1.7 million in savings, a move leaders hope will set up a full property tax rollback as they start planning the next spending plan.
County Manager Derick Canupp told the board that department heads had found more than $898,000 in cuts. Another $827,000 comes from moving SPLOST sales tax money, as laid out in the SPLOST referendum voters approved.
Commissioners had asked Canupp to comb through the books and look for savings as fuel and other costs keep climbing. He took that request to each department and asked managers to go line by line through their own budgets.
Even with the reductions, the county expects to keep a fund balance of about $10 million. Officials said that cushion should leave White County well placed to offer a full rollback of the millage rate.
Commissioners welcomed the numbers and voted to amend the current budget using the figures Canupp presented. He thanked the departments after the meeting, describing the savings push as a mission with a clear goal that had looked tough on paper but proved reachable once everyone took part.
At the same session, the board heard the 2026 county financial audit from Audit Manager Justin Burruss of Rushton Accounting and Business Advisors before approving the budget amendments.
The cuts come on top of a lean year. When county leaders proposed a $34.2 million budget for the 2027 fiscal year, they said the plan rested on reasonable assumptions about expected tax revenue. Helen residents pay county taxes as part of White County.
