DAWSON, Ga. — As Dawson residents continue raising concerns about potholes, water problems and rising utility costs, city leaders are facing a larger question: how is the city managing its money?

Dawson Mayor Robert Aaron says the city is not broke, but is “battling to stay above water” financially.

His comments come as the Dawson City Council prepared to hold a public hearing Thursday evening on its proposed 2026-27 budget.

However, the budget hearing set for 5:30 p.m. at Dawson City Hall has been cancelled.

The city’s finances have been under scrutiny for months.

The Albany Herald previously reported that Dawson was facing a structural budget deficit of at least $300,000 and had sought authority to borrow as much as $420,000 to maintain operations. The city’s proposed budget projected roughly $5.88 million in recurring revenue against $6.18 million in planned spending.

Mayor Aaron says the city ultimately borrowed about $400,000 against certificates of deposit to help get through the year.

“We bought against our CD just to get through the year,” Aaron told WALB. “We bought about $400,000.”

Aaron said the city has money in those certificates of deposit and plans to repay the borrowing after receiving tax revenue.

Audits Remain Outstanding

One of the biggest questions surrounding Dawson’s finances is the status of its annual audits.

The city remains behind on its Fiscal Year 2023, 2024 and 2025 audits. The Albany Herald has reported that the missing audits have contributed to Dawson being out of compliance with state financial requirements and have affected access to additional funding for wastewater projects.

Aaron said the city has struggled with turnover in its finance department.

He says Dawson has gone through four financial directors during his approximately six years as mayor.

“We did not have any stability in the finance to have the audits done and prepared in a timely manner,” Aaron said. “So we got behind.”

Aaron said the city is now working with an outside company to complete the audits and expects them to be finished around December.

He also said Dawson currently does not have a financial director and is working to find someone to fill the position.

The Albany Herald reported in August that Dawson’s finance director, Dawn Williford, resigned as the city worked to revise its proposed budget.

What about the $8 fee?

The city recently approved an additional $8 monthly fire service charge for utility customers inside Dawson’s city limits.

The charge applies to residential and commercial accounts and is expected to generate approximately $172,800 annually based on about 1,800 accounts. City officials have said the money will support fire department expenses.

Aaron told WALB the charge was created to help cover the cost of operating the fire department rather than increasing the city’s property tax rate.

“I can assure you that the fire department need every bit of that to operate for the next year,” Aaron said.

He said the $8 charge still will not be enough to fully balance the city’s budget.

The fire department’s annual budget is approximately $1 million, according to city figures previously reported by the Albany Herald.

Why are the roads still in bad shape?

The mayor also responded to residents who say Dawson’s roads have deteriorated while they continue paying city fees.

Aaron said some of the city’s pothole problems are tied to aging infrastructure underneath the roads.

He also pointed to heavy trucks traveling on streets where they should not be.

Aaron said the city keeps a list of known potholes and repairs them based on priority when the city is able to purchase asphalt.

But he acknowledged the problem will not be solved overnight.

“To be honest with you, they’re going to be with us for a while,” Aaron said.

He said completing the city’s overdue audits is also important because it could help Dawson qualify for additional grant funding to repair roads.

“We can’t generate enough local money to repair it,” Aaron said. “It costs a lot of money to repair some of the roads. A lot of roads need paving. And we have to do that with grant money.”

A $659,000 gap and loan repayments

According to the city’s written response, Dawson’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026–2027 General Fund budget projects $3,232,250 in revenue against approximately $3.892 million in departmental spending—creating an initial budget shortfall of roughly $659,594.

Compounding that gap, the city faces a $400,000 obligation to repay a Tax Anticipation Note borrowed through a revolving line of credit with Georgia Community Bank earlier this summer. City officials clarified that the loan repayment is a strict financial liability and cannot be used to fund city operations.

“The City is currently assessing available resources, projected revenues, expenditures, lawful transfers and other available funding mechanisms, while also finding opportunities to reduce or restructure expenditures,” the city said in a statement. “Administration is also working with the City Council to determine what adjustments are necessary to bring the budget into balance.”

Aaron goes on to say, “We do not raise enough taxes. We do not generate enough funds locally from the water bill and gas bill to run the city”.

Three years of missing audits lock city out of road grants

The city officially acknowledged that its independent financial audits for Fiscal Years 2023, 2024, and 2025 all remain outstanding.

Under Georgia law, local governments are required to submit annual independent audits to verify expenditures, debt obligations, and internal financial controls.

City officials confirmed they are working with accounting firm Mauldin & Jenkins to finish the backlogged books. For the FY 2023 audit, auditors have requested additional information that city staff are currently trying to locate and reconcile. The city acknowledged that while council members have access to internal bookkeeping, historical balances still lack independent verification.

That delay has directly impacted Dawson’s streets. Mayor Aaron explained that because the city is out of state compliance, Dawson is legally barred from applying for state and federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) that fund road resurfacing.

“Once we get our audits in position where we can apply for a Community Block Grant, we apply for those grants to repair the roads because we can’t generate enough local money to repair it,” Aaron said. “It costs a lot of money to repair some of the roads. A lot of roads need paving, and we have to do that with grant money.”

Aaron attributed the audit crisis to administrative turnover, noting the city has gone through four financial directors during his six years in office. The city currently operates without a financial director.

What happens next?

Thursday’s budget hearing gives residents an opportunity to question city leaders before the council moves toward adoption of the new budget.

The Albany Herald reported that the proposed budget documents have raised questions about how revenues, spending and transfers between city funds are accounted for. A Herald review found that printed departmental spending totaled approximately $3.89 million, compared with proposed General Fund revenue of $3.23 million, although the newspaper noted that repeated account entries and other inconsistencies make the figures difficult to reconcile without additional financial records.

The city has scheduled an Oct. 8 vote to adopt the budget.

Aaron says the city is working to stabilize its finances, complete the overdue audits and find additional funding for infrastructure.

In the meantime, he is asking residents to pay their utility bills on time and notify the city when they see problems with roads or other city property.

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