The county board of health, at a regular or called meeting, at a time appropriate to the fiscal operation of the county, shall determine and fix the amount of money needed for the fiscal or calendar year, as the case may be, in accordance with a budget itemizing anticipated income and expenditure; the budget shall include any unobligated moneys carried over from the current period and funds to be made available from sources other than county taxes. The expenditures anticipated, after applying credits, shall be certified by the county board of health, with a copy of the budget, to the taxing authority of the county, which may fix and levy a tax rate sufficient to raise such amount at the same time and in the same manner prescribed for levying taxes for other county purposes, provided the taxing authority of the county deems the budget reasonable. If, however, the taxing authority of the county should deem the budget unreasonable, it shall promptly return the budget to the county board of health with its objections attached thereto for the purpose of resubmission.
OCGA § 31-3-14