Wednesday, July 23, 2003
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Wednesday, July 23, 2003 |
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PTC seeking tax hike to make up for lower LOST funds By J. FRANK LYNCH
Peachtree City homeowners are facing a 1 mill increase in property taxes for the 2004 fiscal year to make up for revenue lost primarily due to redistribution of the Local Option Sales Tax. The city expects a shortfall of $620,000 in LOST money after agreeing with the Fayette County Commission last year on a new formula for parceling out the sales tax revenue, said City Manager Bernard McMullen. In December, the Peachtree City Council approved a proposal from Fayette County that changed the distribution of the county's Local Option Sales Tax. Under the new agreement, the county's proportion of sales tax revenues would increase to 50 percent over a three-year period beginning in 2003. The county previously got 47.5 percent of the LOST revenues with the remainder split by Fayette's municipalities based on their respective populations. The new deal locked in that figure for 2003, with an increase in the county's take to 48.5 percent in 2004 and to 50 percent in 2005. The rst public hearing on the city's 2004 budget, which takes effect Oct. 1, will be Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Public input is welcome. According to McMullen, the 2003 budget anticipated LOST revenue of $6,492,000, but the city is banking on just $5,874,000 in 2004, based on a conservative 2 percent growth rate in retail sales. The LOST revenue represents 26 percent of Peachtree City's proposed $27.6 million budget, while ad valorem taxes represent another 32 percent. Franchise fees, impact fees and the like make up the remainder, McMullen said. A 1 mill increase will generate approximately $1,447,000, he said, raising the city's total millage rate to 5.73. The Fayette County school board, which approved its FY04 budget in June, also raised its millage slightly, by .66 mills. The County Commission, on the other hand, lowered its burden on taxpayers, in part to offset the impact of the LOST on the cities, McMullen said. "So it's a partial trade-off," he said. New spending accounts for $26 million of the proposed budget, with another $1.6 million in Public Improvement Funds rolled over from the current year's budget. "Most of the carry-overs are associated with the Ga. Highway 54 West widening," said McMullen. "We've had the money in our budget, but we've had to wait for the state to get started on the project." Work is now expected to begin in November on Hwy. 54. The city's budgeted share of the work includes $476,000 to build a cart path bridge parallel to a new highway bridge over the CSX railroad tracks; $526,700 for cart path tunnels underneath the new four-lane at Huddleston Road; and $326,000 for utility relocation. The version of the budget presented to City Council members and the public Thursday night represents the "second draft" of spending proposals first submitted by department heads earlier this summer. Paul Salvatore, city finance director, working with McMullen and Mayor Steve Brown, makes changes and recommendations to the first drafts and sends them back for revisions. "Basically what's being represented to the city council is the staff's budget recommendations, following two reviews," said McMullen. There will be no additional funding in the 2004 budget for the proposed stormwater utility, McMullen said, pointing out that the council approved hiring a consultant to do a feasibility study on July 3. What will be included is more than $650,000 for repairs and paving of city streets and cart paths, which have been damaged by this year's record rains, spending that was already projected in the city's five-year plan. But a tight budget last year forced the city to cut back on routine maintenance and upkeep of streets and paths, so the city is already behind somewhat, McMullen said. The proposed budget increases street maintenance by $71,900. Peachtree City is the last of the county's governments to go through the budget process this summer. In addition to the school board and county, both Fayetteville and Tyrone have already approved new budgets.
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