Friday, Aug. 5, 2005

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PTC still planning for tax increase

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

At an early morning public hearing Thursday, no Peachtree City residents opposed the city keeping its millage rate instead of rolling it back to stave off a property tax increase.

Finance Director Paul Salvatore noted that $525,715 in the budget was dedicated for staffing and financing payments for the library expansion that was approved by voters in a referendum.

“We’ve still been able to add employees ... for vitally needed positions,” said Mayor Steve Brown, adding that he felt the library funding for this year was a significant factor in the budget.

Rapson noted this is the second year that the city has borne the debt service payment for the library expansion.

By not rolling back the millage rate, the city will get an extra $340,000 this year due to reassessment of existing property.

The 2005-06 general fund budget under consideration by council totals $25.81 million, an increase of $1.1 million (4.3 percent) from this year’s general fund budget.

The budget includes one full-time and one part-time position for the library to cover the larger children’s section from the building expansion approved by voters. Also proposed are a full-time city engineer/project manager, a full-time system specialist for information technology and a full-time staff assistant for the Planning Department 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 2005-06 Public Improvement Program budget includes $50,000 for architectural design of a new senior citizen’s 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, 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 Children’s Playground.

Recent savings found in the budget helped staff reduce the projected millage rate increase for next year from one mill to .45 mill, according to Salvatore.