Georgia budget to bring windfall to Savannah. Here are the projects to receive state funds.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s 2022-2023 state budget is working its way through the Georgia Legislature, and it could mean additional state funding for a few local entities.

The budget, bolstered by an overflowing surplus of $3.7 billion from 2021 tax revenues, is currently awaiting a vote from the Senate. It outlines Gov. Kemp’s state spending priorities for the last quarter of 2022 and the entirety of 2023.

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The amended 2022 budget, or the "little budget" only applies adjustments to the last quarter of 2022. Versions of this budget have passed through both the House and the Senate, and lawmakers are working to reconcile the differences.

The "big budget" for the fiscal year 2023 gained passage in the House on March 11.

This year's 2022 budget includes $1.6 billion in state income tax refunds, a $5,000 raise for state workers and University System of Georgia employees, and a $2,000 bonus for full-time K-12 public school teachers and staff members.

The 2023 budget includes funding destined for state and private programs here in Savannah. It allocates an additional $80 million for the completion, renovation and expansion of the Savannah Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, which stands at the center of one of Savannah’s most valuable industries, tourism.

Additionally, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography would receive just over $2.1 million to expand the capacity of the Research Vessel Savannah.

Savannah State University is also slated to get a piece of the pie. Under the budget, Savannah’s HBCU will receive $300,000 to begin offering an elementary education degree program, as well as $7.5 million for the design and construction of a new physical plant. 

Savannah Tech would also receive a $720,000 increase in state funding for the operation of their culinary institute.

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Skidaway Institute

The University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has been using the Research Vessel Savannah since 2001. It’s one of 22 ships of its kind in the U.S., and the only one between Miami and Delaware on the East Coast. 

But the RV Savannah is aging and is due for her mid-life checkup — checking the engines, replacing the generators, and other routine maintenance. The state will pick up a portion of that bill. 

Skidaway Institute Director Clark Alexander says the 92-foot vessel will also get some safety upgrades as well as an expansion of its research capabilities, including lengthening the vessel to accommodate for a research lab inside a modified shipping container. At present, the ship isn’t big enough to fit the lab.

“Our ship is really a flagship of the state of Georgia. And in a lot of ways, it gives Georgia, the University System, UGA and the state a much higher national profile, hosting one of 22 ships in the nation in the academic research fleet,” Alexander said. “So it does really give us a much higher profile in the oceanographic community than we would have otherwise.”

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Savannah Convention Center

The expansion of the state-owned Savannah Convention Center began last year. The proposed $80 million from the state is set to be the last round of funding for the Hutchinson Island project.

Plans for the enlarged facility include doubling the exhibit hall space to 200,000 square feet. 

The facility will also add a 60-foot-wide hangar door, a new entrance, outdoor space, and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, 15 meeting rooms, and a 900-space, seven-story parking garage. A hotel, which will be constructed with private funds, is being planned just west of the center. 

While the $80 million is just short of the $93 million needed to fully fund the project, Savannah Convention Center General Manager Sherrie Spinks says she is confident the state will adjust the budget to finish the job.

“It's short right now. But it's going through the process in the House,” Spinks said. “I’m confident that the state will fund the project to completion.”

Rep. Stephens said the convention center is "the biggest hit we've ever had." He expects the additional $13 million required to be raised through bonds.

"We'll have to do that locally. And of course, that's the thing that the local folks are trying to work on," Stephens said.

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Savannah Tech culinary

The Culinary Institute of Savannah has been getting a lot of buzz lately. The food industry training program is a bit of a hidden gem, heralded as “best in the USA,” by the American Culinary Federation.

In 2018, the program announced plans to grow beyond Savannah Tech’s White Bluff Road campus and open a fully functioning training kitchen and bakery at 7 West Bay. The 2022 budget included bonds to purchase and renovate the building. The funds in the 2023 budget will go toward equipment and outfitting.

Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah) says the institute is a valuable asset to the Savannah community and workforce and said the school is an exemplar of how public-private partnerships should function. 

“That's what we should be trying to encourage from a perspective of training and workforce development,” Watson said.

The dollar amounts attached to these budget items are subject to change. Currently, the funding is being debated on the House floor. Once complete, the House will take a vote, and if the budget passes, it will move onto the Senate floor, where the process will repeat. 

The bill will have to be passed by the House by Tuesday, March 15, known as crossover day, the last day for all legislation to “cross over” from the House to the Senate or vice versa. 

Will Peebles is the enterprise reporter for Savannah Morning News. He can be reached at wpeebles@gannett.com and @willpeeblessmn on Twitter.