The good news is that Fayetteville property owners can expect no tax millage rate increase when the Fiscal Year 2007 budget is adopted later this summer.

Finance Director Lynn Robinson told the City Council June 15 the $9,591,721 proposed general fund budget represented a 4.31 percent increase over the current $9,195,527 budget.

The increase comes primarily in the form of 3.5 percent pay increases to city employees, higher health insurance costs and the additional of three full-time and one part-time city staff members.

Robinson projected the millage rate to hold steady at 3.033 mills. She said in 1994 the millage rate was 5.97. Since that time the rate has either decreased or held steady. One mill is projected to bring in revenue to the city of $821,044.

The proposed total for the city’s 12 budget categories came in at $34,846,424, a $1.9 million increase. Robinson said the increase came from appropriations from the wastewater treatment plant upgrade and the stormwater project.

Robinson said notable highlights of the proposed general fund budget included a recommendation of no increase in fees or user taxes, no use of the general fund unreserved fund balance, a positive trend for sales tax revenues and a projected 9 percent increase in growth and reassessment.

The budget proposal includes a 3.5 percent increase for city employees’ pay and retention plan and increasing health insurance costs, estimated to be 10 percent.

Personnel recommendations included the addition of one stormwater maintenance worker, one wastewater treatment plant operator, one drug task force patrol officer and one part-time maintenance manager.

Concerning the city’s proposed $25,000 contribution to non-profit organizations, Mayor Kenneth Steele said the Senior Services agency and Promise Place battered women’s program had requested funding.

Seniors Services received $17,500 during the current budget cycle and had increased the amount requested, Steele said. Promise Place is requesting $7,500.

Though the city does not customarily allocate funds to non-profits, Steele said both agencies make a significant contribution to Fayetteville residents.

Reviewing the various fund categories and providing a comparison to the current budget cycle, Robinson said the water and sewer fund had decreased by 4.27 percent with the completion of stormwater drainage system infrastructure.

The special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) fund increased by 100 percent due to transportation projects included in the proposed budget.

The Downtown Development Authority decreased by 26.22 percent due to the 2001 bond projects function carrying a remaining reserve fund balance of $35,000 for the facade project and $35,000 for depot renovation.

Robinson said other budget considerations include a 481.16 percent increase in the cemetery Fund, from $5,850 in 2006 to $33,998 in 2007, due to a transfer to the capital projects fund for the cemetery improvement project.

She said the Main Street Tourism fund increased by 3.75 percent and the hotel/motel tax fund increased by 26.79 percent over 2006 in anticipation of a full year of business by the new hotel.

Robinson said city department heads submitted a baseline budget along with their top priorities.

“The department heads take the budget process very seriously. They are serious in their approach and in what they submit,” she said.

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