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On Tuesday, the Troup County Commission approved three resolutions to amend the county’s FY-2022 budget to re-establish a capital project fund for capital layout projects.

The county originally had a 350 Fund where capital projects were budgeted and tracked, explained Sonya Conroy, chief finance officer for the county, but it was dismissed years ago. Re-establishing a similar fund would direct the funds of previously approved projects into their own fund and not in the county’s general fund, she said.

“When you put [capital projects] in the general funds, it makes the departmental budgets go extremely higher and venture off from the projects … and it makes them harder to track for comparison purposes, and it makes it harder to roll the project over to the fiscal year if the project is not complete,” Conroy said.

In previous meetings, the board approved various projects, such as the Government Center’s roof replacement project, the Government Center’s parking deck repair, the Road Department’s roof replacement and the Dallis Street exterior repairs. These projects were funded through the county’s general fund.

The first resolution approved by the commission Tuesday reestablished a $1,876,939 budget for the Capital Project Fund.

The second amendment involved moving funds from the general fund for the Troup County Archives’ Fort Georgia project. The archives stores records in a facility named Fort Georgia, and in 2019, the commission approved a $561,000 restoration project for Fort Georgia, which optimized storage space.

According to the county, the restoration project was completed at around $490,000. The archives recently requested that the remaining $70,000 be given to them for other projects, such as updating their security system and addressing drainage issues and for supply purchases. The board approved giving the $70,000 to the archives.

The third resolution increased the strategic planning budget. The approval will allow the county to move funds from the general fund in support of a new strategic plan announced last month by the Troup County Board of Strategic Planning. The county agreed to fund $14,000 of the $70,000, and the cities of LaGrange, West Point and Hogansville are also being asked to contribute.