Fairburn officials

learned how fast their town was growing this year.

This year's

proposed $11.5 million budget is double the city's budget from 1993. City

Manager Cox explained the increase was due to the phenomenal growth that

has occurred in the area and said the city's employment force has grown

from 50 to 73 in the same time frame.

Included in

this year's budget is a 2.5 percent raise for city employees. The budget

does not include a requested three new police officers and also calls

for very few new capital requests.

Cox said the

city receives most of its budget funds from sales tax, and sales tax growth

is expected to be only 4 percent next year, instead of the normal 7 percent

in a more robust economy.

The biggest

increase in requested funds this year is the city administration, which

is up $256,000. Cox said nearly $190,000 of the increase goes to pay for

the increased number of inspections the city has to do for developments.

Cox's budget

crunching and growth projections backed up Mayor Betty Hannah's assesment

of the city earlier in the year.

She said she

was happy that Fairburn's cable and Internet service is adding new subscribers

and said that Union City had just signed up to join the system.

The city continued

to grow by leaps and bounds and Hannah pointed to the 700 acres the city

has annexed during 2000.

The city also

is adding new residents as the Meadow Glenn project on Ga. Highway 74

continues to build new multifamily and single family residences.

Although many

residents are finally discovering the city, she feels the city is growing

at a manageable rate and praised the staff for their work.

The busy state

highway also will be the site for a major shopping center in the future,

she added.

The city's

Police Department has recently formed a bicycle patrol unit that will

help in community policing and getting into areas that cars have difficulty

navigating, she said.

"It's

been a good year and we've faced a lot of challenges," Hannah said.