Facing lower than expected revenues from sales and property taxes, Peachtree City officials have cut $2.4 million already from the proposed 2008-2009 operating budget.

The city has also made slashes in its Public Improvement Program budget to the tune of more than $2 million, delaying some projects and financing others for five or 15 years instead of paying cash.

At Monday’s budget meeting, the council appeared to be strongly leaning toward not increasing the millage rate but instead using nearly $1.3 million in cash reserves to balance the budget instead.

Though that would leave the city with plenty of cash reserves for future years, it also could set up a need for a 1.5 mill tax increase the following year, according to projections from city staff.

While the city in recent years has been able to avoid such projected significant property tax increases, City Manager Bernie McMullen told the council Monday that he is “very doubtful” the city would be able to do so in 2010.

That means the city will be faced with either a tax increase or a potentially dramatic cut in service levels.

Several council members suggested that it would be good to open a dialog with citizens to determine what city services they could do without.

City staff presented another budget proposal with a .75 mill property tax increase that would have cost approximately $75 in additional taxes for a home valued at $245,000, McMullen said.

Adopting that increase would increase the city’s chances of avoiding a big millage increase in one year, said City Finance Director Paul Salvatore.

But as Councilman Don Haddix pointed out, citizens are already facing higher gas and food prices, and many residents commute, so the gas prices are hitting them extremely hard. Increasing city taxes would further increase the economy’s burden on citizens, Haddix said.

McMullen noted that over the past four years the city has essentially used its cash reserves and other savings to fund most of the 43 new employees hired by the city during that time frame. Some 33 of those employees are with the city’s police and fire departments.

During that four-year time frame, the city has only raised its millage rate by .25, which will raise $460,000 in this year’s budget instead of the $2 million it costs just to pay those employees’ salary and benefits.

The proposed $27.48 million budget for 2008-2009 is a 3.54 percent increase over the current year budget. It includes none of the 10 new employees that were requested by department directors but were removed by McMullen.

Among the projects that were cut from the budget was the projected $500,000 for the first phase of a new recycling center for the city.

Also cut was $626,000 for improvements at the intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and Commerce Drive. McMullen said the site has gone from being in the top three to near the bottom 10 in terms of the intersections in the city with the most motor vehicle accidents.

Also on the cut list are construction of traffic lights at Ga. Highway 74 and south Kedron Drive (moved to 2010) and at Peachtree Parkway and Georgian Park (moved to 2011). Both projects were budgeted for $250,000 each.

City staff also cut $100,000 from the PIP for various cart path extensions.

Other cuts included:

• Renovation of the Satterthwaite fire station sleeping quarters, storage and workout areas — $275,000;

• Design of a new fire station for the south end of town, likely to be located at the Highway 74 Baseball and Soccer complex – $150,000;

• Replacement of a dump truck – $98,000;

• A feasibility study for improvements at the intersection of Ga. Highways 54 and 74 – $50,000; and

• Engineering on two cart path tunnels: one under Ga. Highway 74 connecting the Wilshire Pavilion to the Meade sports fields and the other under Peachtree Parkway at the Peninsula subdivision – $102,000.

Mayor Harold Logsdon lauded city staff for their work in recommending the budget cuts.

“Y’all did a good job of cutting these expenses,” Logsdon said.

The mayor said some citizens have told him they don’t mind paying a little extra to live in Peachtree City, while others have said they don’t want any tax increases.

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