County Mayor Jim Coppinger said Tuesday that the county budget should be "flat" despite the twin devastation of the coronavirus and the Easter tornado.
However, at the city, City Council Chairman Chip Henderson said he expects "a severe shortfall."
He said, "Cuts are on the forefront of everyone's mind."
He said the county budget only includes $4.8 million in sales tax and relies heavily on the property tax.
The county mayor said hotel/motel taxes will be down drastically, but he said the county does not receive those. He said the county portion years ago was designed for the Visitors Bureau.
County Mayor Coppinger said over 500 homes were destroyed by the tornado, but he said the county had some 900 new homes come online during the fiscal year.
Some School Board members earlier questioned why other large counties in the state are budgeting for major revenue declines and Hamilton County is not.
He said the finance staffs at the county and county schools talk with each other often throughout the year.
County Commission Chairman Randy Fairbanks said local governments cannot afford to wait to find out the full economic effect of the virus, but need to go ahead and put a budget into place.
County Mayor Coppinger said all counties in the state have been told by the comptroller's office to have a budget in place at the end of June. He said the budgets can be altered later - as they often are.