The Finance Department establishes and maintains an internal control structure designed to ensure that the assets of the City are protected from loss, theft or misuse, and to ensure that adequate accounting data is compiled to allow for the preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The Department is responsible for both the accuracy of presented data and the completeness and fairness of presentation, including all disclosures. The Department is responsible for the preparation of the comprehensive annual financial report as well as monthly financial reports.

About the Finance Director…

Donna W. England has served as the Finance Director for the City of Ball Ground, Georgia, since April 2008. She is a graduate of North Georgia College with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and from the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government Finance Officer Program.

The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the City of Ball Ground since FY2007. The City has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association of The United States and Canada with the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

In 1994 our water was voted ‘Best Water in the State of Georgia’, and we still boast about our good water now! Read the Consumer Confidence Report for 2024 for more information.

The City of Ball Ground is actively seeking additional ground water sources for development in order to insure high quality and ample supply of water into the future. The City has also established connections with the Cherokee County Water and Sewer Authority in order to provide reliable “back-up” in the event of well failure or disruption.

Water-Sewer Consumption Billing

Water bills are mailed on the last working day of each month, and are due by the 15th of each month. The City accepts cash, personal checks, money orders, MasterCard or Visa as methods of payment. In addition, for customers who so choose, we offer auto draft services at no cost to the customer through ACH Debit.  To arrange for this service you will need to complete an application and provide us with a voided check to start the process.  A drop box is provided in the parking lot of City Hall for after hours payment drop. You may use the link above to pay online.

Service Line Inventory for Lead Service Lines

The City of Ball Ground has completed an inventory of all water service lines.  We have 6 remaining service lines, owned by customers, not the City, that are galvanized lines and MAY have been exposed to lead at some point in history.  As such the City will be working with these homeowners to have their service lines replaced to reduce the possibility of lead exposure.  You can see a complete listing of the City of Ball Ground service line inventory at https://ga-epd.120water-ptd.com

Report an Outage  |  Request a Street Light

Do you know of an area within the city limits of Ball Ground that is in need of a street light?  Contact us with the location, and we will consider the area in future projects. The budget for street lights is pushing $60,000 annually, making this a very costly, yet often overlooked City service.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question:
Why does the City pay for street lights in some subdivisions but not in my subdivision?
Answer:
The City pays the street light bill in all subdivisions where the roads, water lines and sewer lines have been deeded to the City.  If the infrastructure has not been deeded to the City by the developer, then the street lights are the responsibility of the developer, or the HOA.

Apply for Sanitation Services  |  Cancel My Services | Solid Waste Guidelines | Recycling Guidelines

The City of Ball Ground has a blanket contract with WastePro to provide curbside garbage collection service throughout the City. Curbside recycling is not offered at this time.

Currently, City customers interested in recycling may bring their recyclables to the Senior Center (388 Groover Street) on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, 9 AM to 12 PM. This service is available to City customers only and is free of charge. Please be sure to read the posted guidelines for recycling prior to arrival. Additionally, City customers may may bring their recycling to Pickens County Recycling free of charge. Please visit their website HERE for their hours and information.

By bidding out this service, we have been able to obtain a higher level of service at a lower cost for our residents. Every three years the City evaluates the existing contract and negotiates new terms with the service provider.  If unable to reach what the City believes to be the best possible deal, we then accept new bids.

Truck Route:

The route shown below has been selected by the Georgia Department of Transportation for the Ball Ground Truck Bypass.  Please click the image for more detail.  As it stands currently, the State does not plan to allocate funding for this project until 2030 but the City will continue to work closely with County and State officials in hopes of expediting this timeline. For more information on this project, please see the full study linked below this image or contact City Hall.

Old Dawsonville Road Traffic Impact Study:

A&R Engineering has performed a traffic impact study for Old Dawsonville Road, focusing on the Farmer’s Crossing development currently under construction and the proposed Fitts Property subdivision across the street. This study presents the analysis of the existing and future conditions of Old Dawsonville Road, Groover Street, and William Court. It also assesses impacts to the transportation system brought on by these two developments before making recommendations for alleviating any burdens placed on the roadway by these projects.

Click HERE for the study.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question:  How much roadway does the City maintain?
Answer: The City of Ball Ground is currently responsible for 18.19 center line miles of roadway.

Question:  Why doesn’t the City do more to repair Gilmer Ferry Road and A. W. Roberts Drive downtown?
Answer:  These are not city streets.  These two streets are part of Georgia State Route 372.  Both roads were originally constructed by the City of Ball Ground as local streets.  In the 1970s the State took both of these streets from the City and deemed them as State Highway.  Now, extensive truck traffic operates on these roads that were never constructed with that purpose in mind.  We continue to work with the State and other agencies in an effort to re-route truck traffic so that repairs on these roadways will last.

Question:  I live in a subdivision.  Who takes care of my streets?
Answer:  When a developer constructs a subdivision, the roads, water lines and sewer lines are considered “private property”.  Once everything is constructed to standard and the subdivision is 80% complete, the developer can ask the City to take over this infrastructure for future maintenance.  The request is presented to Mayor and Council and they vote on whether or not to accept the infrastructure.  Some developers have not asked for the roads to be accepted.  If they do not ask the City to take them, and then subsequently deed them to the City, these roads are considered private and are not eligible for taxpayer dollars to be spent on them.