$37 million budget sails toward Aug. 2 approval

The Peachtree City Council unanimously gave the green light Thursday night for up to 180 homes to be built on 66.5 acres at 180 Old Senoia Road. That’s a lot size averaging under four-tenths of an acre.

The vote rezoned the property from AR-Agricultural Reserve and General Industrial to Limited Use Residential. The property is north of the Everton subdivision and south of Wilkes Grove Church.

Among the many conditions staff added to the request was that each home would be a minimum of 1,600 sq. ft. and that the development would provide an amenity area and community mailbox.

The City Council also had a public hearing on the 2019 budget, with no public comment from the few residents left at the meeting. The final vote on the budget will come Aug. 2.

As proposed, the city’s General Fund budget would total $37 million, an increase of 3.43 percent to cover increased expenses of $870,000 and to maintain 38 percent in cash reserves.

The FY 2018 projected actual budget totals $35,826,434 while the proposed budget for next fiscal year would total $37,056,830 in revenues, a difference of $1.23 million, or 3.43 percent. Total expenditures are $36,879,943.

Approximately 38.8 percent of revenues come from ad valorem taxes while 20.3 percent are from local option sales taxes, 14 percent from other taxes, 11.1 percent from other revenues and 7.2 percent from franchise taxes.

The cash reserve balance to be maintained at 38 percent would need to account for approximately $13.8 million in the FY 2019 budget, an increase of $176,887 over the current amount.

The largest portion of the proposed increase in expenditures includes $181,701 for six firefighter/paramedics under the SAFER grant program, approximately $18,000 for a part-time fire inspector, approximately $223,000 (1.5 percent) in maximum merit increases and approximately $278,000 (2.5 percent) in cost-of-living increases.

Public Works in the proposed budget would remove funding of outsourced mowing, an amount totaling $259,000. The budget adds five work crew staff and benefits for a total of $294,540, a net increase of $35,540.

Finance staff noted that the proposed new positions amount to 1 percent of budgetary expenses.