The proposed 2026 budget for Pendergrass is about $3 million, an increase of about $400,000 from the 2025 budget.
Pendergrass Deputy Clerk Jennifer Webb Leshok presented the proposed budget during the Oct. 14 work session, where council members also heard the status of the police chief investigation, discussed a new purchasing policy and listened to a request for new oxygen vests for the fire department.
2026 Budget Introduced to Council
The fiscal year 2026 budget will include a parks and recreation expenditure category, which has never been included in the budget, Leshok said. The estimated cost is $50,000.
The money will go toward lawn care and water services for Christopher Lee Ruse Memorial Park, Joyce Wilkerson Park and the town center amphitheater. Leshok also said they are looking to install new playground equipment and potentially create a dog park in Joyce Wilkerson Park.
The general fund summary presented includes $100,000 of the fund balance “applied toward the early retirement of the city’s existing debt,” according to documents Leshok provided.
The budget has been posted online in preparation for the budget hearing on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. The hearing is open for public comment.
Police Chief Remains Suspended
Pendergrass Police Chief Billy McDaniel is still on suspension and an investigation is ongoing, Mayor Bill Ellis told the council.
Hopefully we’ll get to some sort of decision within the next week or two,” he said.
McDaniel was suspended following a failed audit of the police department’s evidence room.
New Purchase Policy Favors Local Vendors
Leshok also presented the new Pendergrass purchase policy, a set of guidelines that must be followed by government officials and employees when they purchase items.
The policy now includes a local vendor preference rule, which gives the council an opportunity to defer to a local vendor on expenses over $25,000.
“If we were to open bids, and there was somebody that was in Pendergrass or Jackson County that was a little bit higher then we could pick them over somebody that was outside of our region,” Leshok said.
The proposed local bid preference for the council to defer locally is currently set at 3%, but council member Bob Carter mentioned potentially changing it to 5%.
If we can help somebody local, that’d be great,” Carter said.
The council will discuss the purchasing policy at the Nov. 11 work meeting. Once the council feels comfortable with the policy, they will vote on it at the following meeting, said City Clerk Renee Martinez.
County Fire Department Requests New Equipment
David Cook, a firefighter for Jackson County, attended Tuesday’s meeting to request funding for five new self-contained breathing apparatus, referred to as SCBA, packs and equipment.
The packs are recommended to be exchanged around every 15 years. Cook said of the 28 packs Jackson County Fire Department has, 13 of them will have been in use for 15 years as of 2026.
The Jackson County Fire Department has three stations, one of them in Pendergrass. The station in Pendergrass holds five packs. The estimated quote for the five packs is $48,000.
The money for the packs must come from the Jackson County SPLOST fund, so Ellis will submit a request to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. Ellis said the commissioners will vote on it at their November meeting, but no exact date was provided.
Margaret Pope is a Fink Fellow in the Cox Institute’s Journalism Writing Lab at the University of Georgia. This story also was published in The Jackson Herald.
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