Overview
Jasper is the county seat of Pickens County. Its auditor, Rushton LLC (Gainesville, Georgia), issued an unmodified opinion on the FY2024 financial statements: they present fairly, in all material respects, the City's financial position as of December 31, 2024. The City reports governmental activities (general government, judicial, public safety, public works, culture and recreation, housing and development) and business-type activities (the Water and Sewerage fund and the Sanitation fund).
In FY2024 the City as a whole grew its net position by $1,650,915 — governmental activities by $1,215,281 and business-type activities by $435,634. The General Fund also grew, adding $252,898 to its fund balance. The year's big story is capital investment: $11,347,384 invested in new capital assets, dominated by the $8,633,556 wastewater plant improvements project still in construction, funded largely by draws on notes payable.
The audit's Management's Discussion and Analysis also notes the adopted FY2025 budget context: a total budget of $19,405,671, including a General Fund budget of $7,565,771 and proprietary funds budgeted at $8,342,410. Those are budget figures quoted from the audit's own narrative, not FY2024 actuals, and no FY2025 actuals are used on this page.
Source: City of Jasper FY2024 Annual Financial Report, Independent Auditor's Report (dated May 16, 2025) and Management's Discussion and Analysis — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
At a glance — FY2024 audited
Source: FY2024 audit, Statement of Net Position and fund statements — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Net position — December 31, 2024
Net position is what remains after liabilities and deferred inflows are subtracted from assets and deferred outflows. Each column below sums exactly to its total.
| Component | City total |
|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $25,787,859 |
| Restricted | $2,283,041 |
| Unrestricted | $5,105,374 |
| Total net position | $33,176,274 |
| Net position by activity | Governmental | Business-type | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net investment in capital assets | $9,747,428 | $16,040,431 | $25,787,859 |
| Restricted | $2,283,041 | $0 | $2,283,041 |
| Unrestricted | $2,311,453 | $2,793,921 | $5,105,374 |
| Total | $14,341,922 | $18,834,352 | $33,176,274 |
Restricted detail (sums to the $2,283,041 above): capital outlay $2,194,526, law enforcement equipment and supplies $38,792, promotion of downtown commerce and business $25,811, judicial and law enforcement technology equipment and supplies $23,912.
How net position changed in FY2024
| Item | City total |
|---|---|
| Beginning net position, as restated | $31,525,359 |
| Increase in net position (governmental $1,215,281 + business-type $435,634) | $1,650,915 |
| Ending net position, Dec 31, 2024 | $33,176,274 |
The restated beginning balance reflects a $103,573 decrease from implementing GASB Statement No. 101 (Compensated Absences) — governmental $89,798 and business-type $13,775. Discretely presented component units (development authorities) are excluded from these primary-government totals; their combined net position is $18,694.
Source: Statement of Net Position, pp. 15–16, and Statement of Activities, p. 17 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
General Fund — FY2024 actuals vs. final budget
The General Fund is the City's chief operating fund. It took in $7,647,491 against a final budget of $7,427,343 ($220,148 over), and spent $7,409,837 against a final budget of $7,825,063 ($415,226 under). Revenues covered expenditures, so the fund balance grew.
Revenues — $7,647,491
| Source | Actual |
|---|---|
| Taxes | $6,270,980 |
| Licenses and permits | $420,463 |
| Fines and forfeitures | $436,896 |
| Intergovernmental | $258,150 |
| Contributions | $102,941 |
| Interest | $43,584 |
| Charges for services | $34,267 |
| Other | $80,210 |
| Total revenues | $7,647,491 |
Government-wide tax mix (accrual basis)
On the government-wide (accrual) basis, the two largest taxes are sales tax ($2,343,800) and property tax ($2,327,618). The full government-wide list — property, sales, franchise ($585,994), alcoholic beverage ($378,051), insurance premium ($390,504), business occupation ($197,290), hotel/motel ($89,918) and other ($65,195) — totals $6,378,370, which differs from the fund-basis tax total of $6,368,166 by the accrual-basis recognition the audit's reconciliation describes. The City's millage rate rose in 2024 from 5.221 mills to 6.221 mills, with the 2024 levy funding the 2025 budget.
Expenditures — $7,409,837
| Function | Actual |
|---|---|
| Public safety (police $2,460,223 + fire $2,235,013 + animal control $37,647) | $4,732,883 |
| Public works (streets $946,074 + fleet maintenance $35,353) | $981,427 |
| General government (legislative $163,763 + executive $309,300 + financial administration $302,459) | $775,522 |
| Housing and development (protective inspection $179,650 + planning and zoning $458,489) | $638,139 |
| Judicial (municipal court) | $146,963 |
| Culture and recreation (parks and recreation) | $70,202 |
| Debt service | $64,701 |
| Total expenditures | $7,409,837 |
Fund balance walk
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beginning balance, Jan 1, 2024 | $3,896,124 |
| Revenues over expenditures | $237,654 |
| Other financing sources, net (transfers in $9,689 + sale of capital assets $5,555) | $15,244 |
| Ending balance, Dec 31, 2024 | $4,149,022 |
That ending balance is $3,985,464 unassigned, $121,455 restricted (downtown commerce $25,811 + capital outlay $95,644), and $42,103 nonspendable (prepaid items). Unassigned fund balance is 54% of General Fund expenditures and total fund balance is 56% — the audit's own liquidity measures.
Source: General Fund Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances — Budget (GAAP) and Actual, p. 22, and Governmental Funds statements, pp. 18–20 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
All governmental funds — FY2024
Beyond the General Fund, the City reports the American Rescue Plan Act Fund, the 2020 SPLOST capital-projects fund, and nonmajor governmental funds. Every row below sums across to its total.
| Fund | Revenues | Expenditures | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $7,647,491 | $7,409,837 | $4,149,022 |
| American Rescue Plan Act Fund | $227,215 | $0 | $0 |
| 2020 SPLOST | $1,337,134 | $1,085,719 | $1,997,432 |
| Nonmajor governmental funds | $181,320 | $695,342 | $170,114 |
| Total governmental funds | $9,393,160 | $9,190,898 | $6,316,568 |
Combined, the governmental funds took in $202,262 more than they spent on operations, but $219,145 of net other financing uses (a $234,389 transfer out of the American Rescue Plan Act Fund, partly offset by $9,689 transfers in and $5,555 of asset-sale proceeds in the General Fund) left a net fund-balance decrease of $16,883 — from $6,333,451 to $6,316,568. The American Rescue Plan Act Fund ended the year at $0; the 2020 SPLOST fund balance of $1,997,432 is restricted for capital outlay. Total governmental fund balance of $6,316,568 is $3,985,464 (63%) unassigned, per the audit.
Source: Governmental Funds Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances, p. 20 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Enterprise funds — FY2024
Jasper's business-type activities are the Water and Sewerage Fund and the Sanitation fund. Together they added $435,634 to net position.
Water and Sewerage — operating revenues $6,403,884
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Charges for service | $6,366,028 |
| Miscellaneous | $37,856 |
| Total operating revenues | $6,403,884 |
| Cost of sales and services | $3,433,521 |
| Personal services | $1,737,341 |
| Depreciation | $1,104,650 |
| Total operating expenses | $6,275,512 |
| Operating income | $128,372 |
Nonoperating items then subtracted a net $766,862 (interest revenue $82,948, less interest expense $737,852, debt issuance costs $120,000, plus an $8,042 gain on sale of capital assets), for a net loss before capital contributions and transfers of $638,490. Capital contributions of $893,722 (intergovernmental revenue $544,222 + capital contributions $349,500) and net transfers in of $164,700 turned that into a $419,932 increase in net position — from $18,402,987 (as restated) to $18,822,919.
Sanitation — operating loss $44,416
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Operating revenues (charges for service) | $289,411 |
| Operating expenses (cost of sales and services $204,946 + personal services $105,516 + depreciation $23,365) | $333,827 |
| Operating loss | −$44,416 |
| Net transfers in | $60,000 |
| Change in net position (after $118 interest revenue) | $15,702 |
| Ending net position, Dec 31, 2024 | $11,433 |
Sanitation's ending net position is $20,900 net investment in capital assets less a $9,467 unrestricted deficit. Water and Sewerage's ending net position of $18,822,919 plus Sanitation's $11,433 equals the business-type total of $18,834,352.
Source: Proprietary Funds Statements of Net Position and of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position, pp. 24–25 — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Debt & capital assets
Outstanding debt — December 31, 2024
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Notes payable (governmental $385,139 + business-type $19,513,724) | $19,898,863 |
| Bonds payable (all business-type) | $2,429,000 |
| Subscriptions payable (all governmental) | $131,301 |
| Long-term debt (notes + bonds + subscriptions) | $22,459,164 |
| Compensated absences | $322,976 |
| Total including compensated absences | $22,782,140 |
Long-term debt rose $6,514,780 during 2024, which the audit attributes to draws on existing notes from direct borrowings to fund the wastewater plant improvements project. Note the scale of the current portion: $15,954,891 of business-type notes payable is classified current at year-end.
Capital assets, net — $49,623,911
| Category (gross) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Land | $4,809,230 |
| Construction in progress | $19,058,092 |
| Infrastructure | $32,591,718 |
| Machinery and equipment | $7,760,183 |
| Buildings and improvements | $3,751,068 |
| Park improvements | $1,593,916 |
| Intangible right-to-use assets (software) | $229,981 |
| Gross capital assets | $69,794,188 |
| Less accumulated depreciation/amortization | −$20,170,277 |
| Net capital assets | $49,623,911 |
Governmental capital assets net are $10,270,051 and business-type $39,353,860, summing to the $49,623,911 total. During 2024 the City invested $11,347,384 in new capital assets — $1,849,309 governmental (including park improvements $442,471, six police vehicles $322,245, and Pioneer roadway improvements $280,118) and $9,153,943 business-type (including wastewater plant improvements in progress $8,633,556). About 79% of net capital investment relates to business-type activities and 21% to governmental activities.
Questions about the report itself may be addressed to Lindsey Williams, Finance Director, City of Jasper, Georgia, 200 Burnt Mountain Road, Jasper, GA 30143, per the audit's "Contacting the City's Financial Management" notice.
Source: Management's Discussion and Analysis (capital assets and outstanding debt) and Statement of Net Position — audited FY2024 report (PDF).
Sources & notes
- Only source used: City of Jasper, Georgia, Annual Financial Report for the year ended December 31, 2024 (audited; Rushton LLC, report dated May 16, 2025). Read the audit (PDF, UGA TED portal).
- Sum checks: every breakdown table on this page was added up before publishing; each shown total equals the sum of its shown parts. One disclosed presentation note: the government-wide tax total ($6,378,370) differs from the fund-basis tax total ($6,368,166) by accrual-basis recognition, as the audit's reconciliation describes — the two bases are labeled wherever they appear so they are never mixed.
- What is missing: this page has no FY2025 or FY2026 actuals, no population, staffing, or service-level figures — the FY2024 audit does not supply them in a form used here, and none were invented. The FY2025 adopted budget totals quoted in the Overview come from the audit's own narrative, not from a separate budget document. A newer verified document would be needed to update this dashboard.
- Excluded from primary-government totals: discretely presented component units (development authorities), combined net position $18,694, and the Municipal Court custodial (fiduciary) fund, which holds assets for others rather than for the City.
- City palette: no high- or medium-confidence City of Jasper palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Peach State Pulse dark-glass theme rather than a city color.