How Statesboro is run
Who runs Statesboro, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Statesboro's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Statesboro
Statesboro has a council-manager government. A mayor elected at large and five council members elected by district serve four-year terms in nonpartisan elections. The council appoints the city manager, who heads the city's administration. The District 2 seat is vacant until a special election in November 2026.
What they are paid
Statesboro city staff
360 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Full-time positions in the FY2027 budget, all funds. The budget also lists 19 part-time positions. City of Statesboro · Jun 16, 2026
Georgia has no statewide pay database. The budget lists pay ranges by grade, not individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Statesboro in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The adopted budget assumed a tax rate of 10.75 mills, and the city manager later proposed 9.60 mills. In September 2026 the council kept the rate at 8.625 mills. The city manager said that means drawing about $1.4 million from general fund balance, dropping it from about $6.5 million (20 percent) to about $5 million, further below the council's 25 percent policy. He said the county's cancelled fire service agreement and an expired SAFER grant left a $4 million shortfall. He expects a full year of FLOST sales tax revenue from July 2027 to bring about $3.4 to $3.5 million. City of Statesboro · Sep 15, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $5.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city targets unassigned general fund balance of 25 percent of the next year's budgeted general fund spending and transfers out. On June 30, 2025 it was 21.3 percent, below the target. The city is below this target. City of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property taxes$14.6M · 45%
- Insurance premium taxes$4M · 12%
- Transfers in from city utilities and other funds$3.6M · 11%
- Georgia Power franchise tax$2.4M · 7%
- Water and sewer fund overhead charge$1.6M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$1.6M · 5%
- Interest income$900,000 · 3%
- Title ad valorem tax$740,000 · 2%
- Other (taxes, fees, fines and fund balance)$3.2M · 10%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$13M · 40%
- Transfers out, mostly to the fire fund$7.5M · 23%
- Streets$3.1M · 10%
- Finance$1.3M · 4%
- Planning, inspections and code compliance$1.1M · 3%
- City manager's office$867,685 · 3%
- Parks$767,280 · 2%
- Other departments and debt service$5M · 15%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Statesboro homeowner paid on the 2025 rates, about 40 cents went to Bulloch County, 31 cents to the city, 28 cents to Bulloch County Schools and less than 1 cent to the state.
31¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Statesboro
- Bulloch County11.35 · 40%
- City of Statesboro8.625 · 31%
- Bulloch County Schools7.932 · 28%
- State of Georgia0.2 · <1%
- Total (mills ($ per $1,000 of assessed value))28.107
2025 property tax rates for a home in Statesboro (Bulloch County). City of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Statesboro is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityStatesboro Police DepartmentCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- FireThe cityStatesboro Fire DepartmentCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- Streets and drainageThe cityCity Public WorksCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of StatesboroCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- Trash collectionThe cityCity of StatesboroCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- Natural gasThe cityCity of StatesboroCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- StormwaterThe cityCity of StatesboroCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- ElectricityPrivate companyGeorgia Power and Excelsior EMCCity of Statesboro · Dec 31, 2025
- Municipal courtThe cityCity of Statesboro Municipal CourtCity of Statesboro · Jun 16, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | NorcrossGA | St MarysGA | LagrangeGA | StatesboroGA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 19,086 | 20,546 | 34,730 | 35,366 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $225,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $9,600 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,235 | $1,059 | $1,299 | $924 |
| Debt per resident | $0 | $3,210 | $1,564 | $435 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $117 | $7 | $323 | $317 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 8.8 | 13.1 | 10.2 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Statesboro publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted FY2027 budget and earlier budgets back to FY2022 are posted on the city budgets page. City of Statesboro
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract for Charles Penny on the city manager page or the finance pages. City of Statesboro
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted council minutes name the mover and seconder and list the members voting aye. City of Statesboro · Sep 15, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists minimum, midpoint and maximum pay for each grade, not individual salaries. City of Statesboro · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $5,822,735 on June 30, 2025, or 21.3 percent against a 25 percent target. How will the city rebuild it after keeping the tax rate at 8.625 mills?
- The FY2027 general fund sends $7,515,550 in transfers out, mostly to the fire fund. How will fire service be paid for in future years?
- The general fund budget assumed a 10.75 mill tax rate but the council set 8.625 mills. Which spending will change to close the gap?
- The city manager expects FLOST sales tax to bring about $3.4 to $3.5 million a year from July 2027. Will the council use it to cut the tax rate or to rebuild reserves?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Statesboro next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.