December in Senoia not only brings all kinds of Christmas festivities, it also brings the annual adoption of the budget. The first of two public hearings on the budget will be held Dec. 10 and will show a proposed 2013 general fund budget totaling $2.292 million that reflects a 1.5 percent decrease in spending over 2012.
The current general fund budget totals $2.327 million. City Administrator Richard Ferry in his budget report said the general fund budget proposed for FY 2013 totals $2,291,800. That figure represents a decrease of 1.5 percent over current budget that ends Dec. 31.
Ferry said the proposed FY 2013 budget does not include the hiring of any new employees. There are two vacancies in public works department for which the city will continue to search for qualified individuals, said Ferry.
Included in the overall budget adoption are the budgets for enterprise funds that include the water, sewer and solid waste management budgets.
Ferry said enterprise funds are used to account for businesslike activities where payments are made for services that benefit identifiable consumers. Services provided by enterprise funds should be self-supporting, he said.
The proposed budget for the water fund is $859,000 while the sewer budget is proposed at $660,800 and the sanitation budget is expected to be $214,000.
The budget for all funds in FY 2013 is $4,045,600. This is a decrease of 0.23 percent compared to FY 2012, Ferry said. The city expects another $500,000 in capital reserve from SPLOST and development impact fees, Ferry added.
Ferry said that despite the decline in the tax digest this year the council was able to decrease the millage rate.
“Since 2006, the millage rate for maintenance and operation of the city was set at 6.11 mills. As a result of the recent commercial development in the downtown and along Ga. Highway 16, coupled with staff’s excellent management of available funds and resources, the mayor and council were able to lower the FY 2012 millage rate to 5.99 mills,” Ferry said.
The Dec. 10 public hearing will be followed by a second public hearing on the budget later this month. Both meetings will be held at the municipal building on Howard Road.
