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Fayetteville approves $29M budget

Includes no raises for municipal judge, solicitor

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Fayetteville’s proposed $29.09 million budget for 2004-2005 was approved unanimously Thursday night by the City Council.

The budget does not add any funds for compensating the city court judge and solicitor, who had both requested raises, nor does it include funds for the indigent defense program, officials said. The indigent defense program will be reviewed later when the requirement takes affect, according to a council memo written by Lynn Robinson, the city’s finance director.

The general fund portion of the budget is $8.85 million, including $5.39 million for public safety. The overall budget also consists of big-ticket areas such as the water and sewer fund ($11.75 million), the capital projects fund ($6.56 million) and the impact fee fund ($1.16 million).

The water and sewer fund is larger than normal thanks to the bond issue recently approved by council to fund expansion of the city’s sewer plant and improvements to the city’s stormwater system. The city has begun to charge individual homeowners $2.95 a month, and commercial establishments at higher rates, to recoup some of the money for the stormwater improvements.

The capital projects fund includes $3.2 million for the police station/municipal court building which will be financed, increasing the city’s annual debt service. Also in the capital projects fund is $1.63 million for pedestrian improvements on Lanier Avenue —Êbut $1.3 million of that will be paid for with grant proceeds from the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative program.

City officials have noted that while revenues such as property taxes, franchise fees and building fees have slowed, the city’s operating expenses have continued to increase, mainly due to providing competitive salaries and increasing health insurance benefits. Sales tax revenues have also increased, officials noted, with sales and use taxes accounting for 32 percent of the city’s projected general fund revenues for the coming fiscal year.

Property taxes come in at 18.5 percent of the city’s general fund revenues, with business taxes at just under 16 percent.