Friday, July 8, 2005

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Police, fire positions axed from preliminary ‘05-06 budget

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Seven requested police positions and six requested fire department positions have been cut from Peachtree City’s preliminary 2005-2006 budget, city officials confirmed last week.

The cuts were authorized by Peachtree City Manager Bernie McMullen as the final budget recommendations are being prepared for the City Council.

The reason for eliminating the fire positions is because of the ongoing EMS tax issue with the county, said City Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler. The city claims that the county government is unfairly taxing city residents for Emergency Medical Services, because city EMS calls are handled by the city’s EMS force, not the county’s.

The requested police positions were turned down because statistical indicators for the first four months of 2005 showed the need wasn’t great, plus three new officers came on board this budget year, Tyler noted.

Among the police statistics, DUI arrests were down 17 percent, citations were down 38 percent and motor vehicle accidents were down 8 percent, Tyler added.

The police request was for three officers, one lieutenant, one sergeant and one major; also included was a request for a civilian staff assistant. Included in the fire department request were three firefighter/paramedic positions and three lieutenants.

The budget process has been handled a bit differently this year, Tyler noted, with council being presented an earlier version of the budget before initial cuts were made by city staff.

This was done at the request of Council member Judi-ann Rutherford, who had questioned why the mayor was the only council member who typically sat in on those preliminary budget creation meetings.

Council is expected to hash out the budget again at upcoming public meetings before officially adopting it and the corresponding millage rate.

The preliminary version of the budget several weeks ago totaled $22.42 million, an increase of 4.87 percent from this year’s actual expenditure projections.

The recommendation from city staff is to keep the millage rate the same, which would result in a net property tax increase due to increased valuations and newly constructed buildings hopping onto the tax rolls.

Staff also is recommending the city use $2.2 to $2.3 million in debt financing for specific capital improvements, including a new senior citizens’ building that would be built between the current Gathering Place and amphitheater office building. That project is slated to cost $700,000 total, with construction occurring in 2007.

The proposed capital improvements loan also would cover other construction projects including completion of the Meade softball field parking lot paving, paving the parking lot at the Riley Field recreation complex, a playground near the planned golf cart bridge over Ga. Highway 54 West near the city limits, expansion of the workout and storage spaces at several fire stations and maintenance storage facilities at the Kedron Fieldhouse and the Hwy. 74 South Baseball and Soccer Complex.

A restroom facility for the Picnic Park area, which includes the All Children’s Playground, is also planned and will be funded with the $150,000 annual recreation payment the city receives from the county, Salvatore noted.