Friday, February 8, 2002
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Friday, February 8, 2002 |
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County in strong financial position By Fulton County Manager Tom Andrews
Fulton County begins 2002 in a strong financial position. In fact, the Board of Commissioners has insured that the government's finances are the best they have been in recent years. The Board of Commissioners recently adopted the county's 2002 budget. The board approved a realistic, balanced budget, while weighing the many competing demands for services throughout the state's most populous county. The $599.9 million general fund, which increased 7.5 percent from 2001, supports countywide services such as the criminal justice system, health and humans services, road maintenance, the 33 branches of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, arts programs, elections, and tax assessments and collections. It is reasonably expected that this budget will have a $60.7 million reserve at the end of 2002. The county's criminal justice system, a mandated function, requires more funding every year. This is largely a result of Georgia's "two strikes laws." The board will provide the criminal justice system with a $173.4 million appropriation. This funding supports jail operations, the district attorney, various courts Superior, Juvenile, State and Probate the county marshall, solicitor, and the public defender. This allocation constitutes 29 percent of the general fund. Almost one-fifth of Fulton residents live below the poverty level, thus creating a need for more health and human services. With 48.8 percent of the county's population classified as low-to-moderate income, the needs of these individuals exceeds the county's ability to fund all desired programs. The 2002 budget provides increases to all areas of health and human services. For example, Grady Hospital will receive $78.9 million, a 4.5 percent increase from 2001. While Grady functions as a regional hospital, only Fulton and DeKalb counties provide funding for this medical safety net used by many of the region's citizens. Additionally, Fulton will provide a $32.2 million supplement to the state's funding for the Department of Health and Wellness, $24.3 million for the Department of Human Services and a $14.2 million supplement to the state's operation of the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services. In total, health and human services funding makes up 25 percent of the general fund. Fulton does not have access to a special local option sales tax since the county dedicates a penny of its sales tax to MARTA operation. Consequently, managing the county's roads program is always a challenge. This year, the county will provide $16 million for its portion of the Regional Transportation Improvement Program. The county also provides municipal-type services such as police, fire, parks and land use planning to residents living in unincorporated areas. Funding for these services comes from the $104.6 million special services district fund. This budget increased 5.1 percent from 2001 and is expected to have a reserve of $14 million at the end of 2002. The Board of Commissioners is fully committed to not only providing necessary services to the county's 828,100 residents, but to also ensure the county's work force is appropriately compensated. In this regard, the board approved a January 4 percent and a July 2 percent across-the-board pay raise for county employees. In conclusion, Fulton County government begins 2002 in an excellent financial position with a work force dedicated to serving all county citizens.
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