The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners hosted its first meeting of the year Jan. 6 to hear two annual reports, discuss the tax anticipation note, and approve the new chairman and vice-chair.
Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Kristina Brooks gave a short report on the Baldwin County School District, which she stated is the second-largest employer in the county. The district’s mantra is “Believe in Baldwin” and its goal is to create students seeking college or careers that turn them into leaders in the community. The district has pre-k through high school, a college and career academy, and a success academy for students in need of a non-traditional approach to their education. The district operates on a $58 million budget, with about $12,600 spent annually per student.
“On average the state [ annually] spends about $11,700 per student, so we are a little over that average,” said Brooks. “But this year we were able to take the property roll-back for our taxes and our millage rate is now 12.07, one of the lowest in the area. Fifty-two percent of Georgia counties have a millage rate between 13 to 17 mills. Within that 12.07 mills, we are required by state laws to give back 5 mills to the state to be redistributed across the state for counties in-need. That is called equalization, and, at this time, Baldwin County does not receive that.”
Brooks emphasized that the overall goal for a graduate is to make them a contributing member of the community. The district aims to do this by prioritizing literacy, which they have made “significant progress in” throughout multiple initiatives, and workforce development pathways.
“Literacy growth, workforce development, and good citizenship are our main areas of focus,” said Brooks. “We also took a big leap forward for student focus and well-being with new implementations and programs and recognizing excellence in educators through the new Innovative Service Award.”
Executive Director of the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) Rebekah Snyder followed Brooks to present an annual report of the agency’s activities. This was previously reported at the Dec. 12 Milledgeville City Council meeting and summarized in the Dec. 29 issue of The Baldwin Bulletin.
Moving into agenda items, County Manager Carlos Tobar presented a tax anticipation note (TAN) of $10 million for a revolving line of credit. The low bid for it was 5.25% of interest. A TAN is a short-term debt security issued by a state or local government to raise money for a public project according to Investopedia.
“This is an anticipating note,” said Commissioner Kendrick Butts. “It depends on what interest we pay back to the bank; depends on how much money we need. I promise we are working hard around this board to make that amount be as less as possible. We hope in the near future we won’t have to do this but for now we gotta do it. But we are working as hard as we can in this tough situation to keep it as low as we can and generate more for the county.”
The county has been using TANs for over 18 years, according to Tobar. Chairman Andrew Strickland stressed to the public that it cannot be fixed overnight and it is not something fixed “with the amount of growth we have seen here,” but that they are taking steps to spend money in “ways that gives taxpayers a good return on their money.”
According to Strickland, actions have been taken to alter financial policies and procedures to fix the county’s financial position. Tobar also confirmed most of the 17 projects on the county’s project list are paid for through grant funding and sales tax that do not come out of property taxes.
The tax anticipation note was unanimously approved.
Then, commissioners unanimously approved Baldwin County applying for the 2026 CHIP Grant, which helps renovate/ rehabilitate and give homes for families in need that meet the grants requirements. Tobar stated the county should be “highly favored” going into the grant application with its requirements.
There are currently nine people on the waiting list and there will only be enough funds, if the grant is approved, to fund five or six families. On a “sad note,” Tobar stated the other families will have to wait until the 2028 grant cycle for funding.
“This is a way to lift our community up,” said Commissioner Scott Little.
Butts added, “This is a program I have been involved with since Day 1, and when I leave office I hope this will be one of our greatest legacies. It is one of the proudest moments I see in the community.”
Moving on to the golf course project update, Tobar stated Central Pro Supply provided a bid of $577,122.83, to be funded through SPLOST, for a purchase order of equipment and supplies for the golf course irrigation. The county unanimously approved the bid.
The county also opened bidding Jan. 5 for construction on the course and will vote Feb. 3 on the construction bids.
“We were told we are on pace to have all the construction done and irrigation going when the grass needs to be growing. We will do nine holes at first and those will be ready to go by June 5 and the next one will be done by Sept. 5,” said Tobar.
Closing the meeting, 2025 Vice-Chair Butts was unanimously elected as the 2026 commission chair. Commissioner Emily Davis was nominated as vice-chair by Butts, but the motion failed with a 2-3 vote, with Hall, Strickland, and Little denying the vote. Strickland then nominated Little as vice-chair, which was approved 3-2, with Davis and Butts denying the motion.