Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | More PTC funds, but still no tax rollbackBy JOHN MUNFORD Monday night, the Peachtree City Council got some good news about its budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year. City staff has increased revenue projections and cut some expenditures, resulting in an additional revenue of $423,598. Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore is recommending the city use the savings to lower the amount of cash reserves used to balance the budget to about $1.1 million. But Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said she would prefer using that money to roll back the millage rate to stave off a property tax increase for homeowners due to higher property reassessments. We have some people who are being hurt by Delta and are still worried about things, Rutherford said. Salvatore cautioned that rolling back the millage rate would increase the anticipated millage rate hikes in future years. The recent savings found for this years budget reduced staffs projection for one-mill millage rate increases in 2007 and 2008. Those increases were reduced to a .6 mill hike in 2007 and a .75 mill increase in 2008. Rutherford said council could ultimately decide to cut future budgets to lessen the impact on future millage rates. Councilman Steve Rapson said citizens should be able to handle minimal tax increases, but he didnt want to see the city have to dramatically increase taxes in a given year. I dont think its in the best interest of the citizens to have the millage rate fluctuate, Rapson said. He noted that the city has been able to offer cost of living and merit pay increases when other municipalities in Georgia have had to lay off employees. Councilman Stuart Kourajian, who attended the meeting via teleconference, added that he was content with the budget and he didnt oppose holding the millage rate this year. Neither did Mayor Steve Brown; Councilman Murray Weed was not present. Rutherford also suggested the city could hire three new firefighters and two new police officers, which would ultimately cost the same $340,000 it would to roll back the millage rate. But again, were providing the services, Rutherford said. The new general fund budget totals $25.81 million, not including the Public Improvement Program, an increase of $1.11 million (4.3 percent) from this years general fund budget of $24.7 million. The PIP budget includes $50,000 for architectural design of a new senior citizens center, which would be located between The Gathering Place and the offices for the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater. Also included is $445,000 for parking improvements and paving at the Riley Field and Meade Field recreation complexes, $330,000 to replace 10 police vehicles and $401,258 for a new fire rescue pumper truck. All of these projects and purchases will be financed with borrowed money, ranging from a four-year period for the police cars to five years for the pumper truck and 15 years for the other projects. Plans are to build the senior center in 2007 at an estimated cost of $650,000. In 2006, the city plans to spend its $150,000 recreation allotment from the Fayette County Board of Commissioners to build restrooms at Picnic Park, which also includes the All Childrens Playground. The city also anticipates collecting $2.08 million in SPLOST payments for transportation improvement projects. Brown pointed out that the citys proposed budget also includes debt service for the new $4.09 million library. It was also noted that the proposed staffing for the new childrens section of the library was reduced from two full-time and two part-time staffers to just one full-time and one part-time position. That reduction was due to the design of the childrens section, said Randy Gaddo, the citys director of leisure services. In addition to the two library positions in the budget, there are three additional positions: a full-time city engineer/project manager, a full-time system specialist for information technology and a full-time staff assistant that is being transitioned from a part-time role. All the new personnel costs add up to $144,516. That figure is included in the departmental expense increase of $542,000 which accounts for 2.1 percent of the general fund budget. The engineer position is necessary to get a backlog of projects moving, noted City Manager Bernie McMullen. He cited the recent go-ahead on the Flat Creek golf cart path bridge as an example, noting work was started on it in 1996. We have a lot of projects like that, McMullen said. If the city continues to lag behind on such projects, it will ultimately pay more for the projects because the cost increases for each year they are not completed, McMullen said. Our city engineer is overwhelmed, McMullen said.
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