The city’s finances on two bases: the FY2025 audited Annual Financial Report (fiscal year ended June 30, 2025) and the FY2026 Recommended Capital & Operating Budget. Watkinsville reports governmental activities only — it has no enterprise funds, no component units, and provides no water or sewer service.
From the audited Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.
The restricted $2,404,676 breaks down as capital projects $2,350,277; cemetery $38,176; and law enforcement $16,223.
Source: City of Watkinsville, Georgia — Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2025 (audited by Rushton, LLC; report dated December 5, 2025).
Everything in this section is the FY2026 Recommended (proposed — not adopted) budget: total $3,349,297, made up of $3,308,297 in revenues plus a $41,000 transfer in. With $17,500 of net capital spending, the grand total is $3,366,797. No millage increase is proposed — the rate is held at 2.756 mills.
| Source | Amount | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) | $1,068,480 | 31.9% | |
| Property taxes | $756,005 | 22.6% | |
| Franchise fees | $330,400 | 9.9% | |
| Insurance premium tax | $284,580 | 8.5% | |
| Fines & forfeits | $202,000 | 6.0% | |
| Interest earned | $174,000 | 5.2% | |
| Licenses & permits | $125,226 | 3.7% | |
| Motor vehicle tax (TAVT) | $120,000 | 3.6% | |
| Business & occupational tax | $99,066 | 3.0% | |
| Alcoholic beverage excise | $69,255 | 2.1% | |
| Real estate transfer tax | $40,000 | 1.2% | |
| Rents & royalties | $33,285 | 1.0% | |
| Charges for services | $6,000 | 0.2% | |
| Transfer in | $41,000 | 1.2% | |
| Total | $3,349,297 | 100% |
LOST is the largest single source at about 32% of the recommended budget. Watkinsville receives 7.77% of the countywide Local Option Sales Tax.
| Department | Amount | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Works | $848,893 | 25.3% | |
| Police | $847,044 | 25.3% | |
| General Government | $607,730 | 18.1% | |
| Parks | $428,683 | 12.8% | |
| Judicial | $190,398 | 5.7% | |
| Tourism | $151,978 | 4.5% | |
| Code Compliance | $99,345 | 3.0% | |
| Housing & Development | $85,514 | 2.6% | |
| Culture & Recreation | $64,712 | 1.9% | |
| Fire | $15,000 | 0.4% | |
| Cemetery | $10,000 | 0.3% | |
| Total | $3,349,297 | 100% |
Police ($847,044) plus Garbage & Leaf/Limb ($458,784, carried inside Public Works) together come to $1,305,828 — 39% of the proposed budget.
Source: City of Watkinsville — Recommended Fiscal Year 2026 Capital & Operating Budget (transmittal letter May 7, 2025; recommended, not adopted). Department figures are the document’s Attachment A table — see the source-defect note at the bottom of this page.
Fund balances, revenues, and expenditures from the audited financial statements, fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.
| Fund | Fund balance |
|---|---|
| General Fund | $4,055,411 |
| SPLOST III Capital Projects | $1,285,837 |
| TSPLOST Capital Projects | $1,037,078 |
| Nonmajor funds | $54,399 |
| Cemetery | $38,176 |
| Confiscated Assets | $16,223 |
| Hotel/Motel | $0 |
| ARPA (closed out in FY2025) | $0 |
| Total governmental fund balances | $6,432,725 |
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Taxes | $2,650,753 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,160,501 |
| Interest | $270,282 |
| Fines, fees & forfeitures | $210,348 |
| Licenses & permits | $87,219 |
| Contributions | $35,400 |
| Other | $59,470 |
| Charges for services | $150 |
| Total | $5,474,123 |
On the accrual basis, capital grants & contributions of $2,236,327 — mostly SPLOST/TSPLOST capital funding — are 41% of revenues. That is capital funding, not recurring operating revenue.
| Function | Amount |
|---|---|
| Capital outlay | $2,147,597 |
| Public safety | $823,561 |
| Public works | $676,679 |
| General government | $618,642 |
| Housing & development | $411,360 |
| Culture & recreation | $340,288 |
| Debt service | $240,872 |
| Judicial | $196,652 |
| Total | $5,455,651 |
Capital outlay is the single largest use of funds in FY2025 — bigger than any operating function — reflecting the SPLOST/TSPLOST project spend.
Source: City of Watkinsville, Georgia — Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2025 (audited, Rushton, LLC).
How the General Fund performed against its FY2025 budget, per the audited statements.
| Original budget | Final budget | Actual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $3,212,679 | $3,326,536 | $3,200,916 |
| Expenditures | $3,246,055 | $3,375,260 | $3,185,842 |
Net change in fund balance, actual: +$63,179, bringing the ending General Fund balance to $4,055,411.
Source: City of Watkinsville, Georgia — Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2025 (audited, Rushton, LLC).
Watkinsville has no bonds payable. Its debt is two notes from direct borrowings, totaling $3,860,063.
| Obligation | Balance | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| GEFA note | $3,309,164 | Borrowed $3,550,000 in September 2023 at 1.630%; $17,343/month through November 2043; secured by the Thomas Farm / Calls Creek watershed property. Total debt service: $3,832,899. |
| GTIB note (drawn) | $550,899 | Drawn amount of a $2,225,000 commitment for the Simonton Bridge Road pedestrian pathway; still in drawdown; to be repaid from future SPLOST III / TSPLOST. Only the drawn $550,899 is debt — the undrawn commitment is not. |
| Notes from direct borrowings | $3,860,063 | |
| Subscription liability (SBITA) | $20,316 | Software subscription obligations. |
| Compensated absences | $71,088 | Accrued employee leave. |
Construction commitments of $3,524,617 were outstanding at June 30, 2025. These are commitments under contract — they are not debt and are not included in the balances above.
Retirement: the city reports no net pension liability and no net OPEB liability. It funds a SIMPLE IRA defined-contribution plan, to which the city contributed $16,840 in FY2025. As a post-year-end item only: after June 30, 2025, the city approved enrolling in the GMEBS defined-benefit plan, and the FY2026 Recommended (proposed — not adopted) budget proposes it. It is not an FY2025 liability, and no liability figure exists for it.
Source: City of Watkinsville, Georgia — Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2025 (audited, Rushton, LLC).
The FY2025 audit issued unmodified opinions — the clean opinion category. It was not a qualified or adverse opinion. The auditors did report two significant deficiencies in internal control, and management concurred with both.
Finding 2025-001 — Significant deficiency. The city relies on the external auditor for GAAP and financial-statement preparation, rather than preparing GAAP-basis statements internally.
Finding 2025-002 — Significant deficiency. Year-end close controls: the audit required material adjustments, indicating the year-end closing process did not catch them first.
Management concurred with both findings.
Source: City of Watkinsville, Georgia — Annual Financial Report, FY ended June 30, 2025 (audited, Rushton, LLC; unmodified opinions; report dated December 5, 2025).
The Recommended Budget’s own pie charts do not foot to its stated total: they print General Government at $613,523 and sum to $3,355,090 — $5,793 above the document’s stated $3,349,297 total. This page publishes the document’s Attachment A department table (General Government $607,730), which foots exactly to the stated total, and does not reproduce the pie-chart figures as data.
The source also carries two $1 rounding inconsistencies: the FY2026 increase is printed as both $52,894 and $52,895, and Code Compliance as both $99,345 and $99,346. In each case this page uses the value that makes the table foot ($99,345 for Code Compliance).
All figures on this page come from the two sources above and nowhere else. FY2025 figures are audited; FY2026 figures are the FY2026 Recommended (proposed — not adopted) budget throughout.