Fairburn taxpayers could see

their taxes nearly doubled this year, unless the city decides to cut some

services or find another revenue source.

The bleak assessment was presented

Monday night by City Administrator Jim Williams at the City Council's

workshop meeting.

Williams said last year's $11.6

million budget was only balanced because the city took nearly $1.2 million

from its reserve fund.

"You really should not

do that two years in a row," he cautioned.

In evaluating this year's budget,

Williams' initial draft proposal is for a $12.3 million budget, which

would offer the same level of services as last year's. But in crunching

the number, he discovered the city would fall about $356,000 short in

funds to pay for the programs.

In order to pay for the budget,

Williams said the only alternatives were to cut services, cut the budget,

use reserve funds or increase taxes.

"This budget just keeps

it going like last year. There's not a whole lot to cut," he said.

Instead, Williams said the

City Council could raise the funds by raising the millage rate from just

over four mills to 7.5 mills, which would cost homeowners of a $100,000

home about $30 more dollars.

"I wanted to alert you

about this problem," Williams said.

City Councilman Harvey Melear

also asked Williams to investigate the services, such as electricity,

the city is providing to the residents. Melear said it might be time to

possibly increase the fees on those services to help pay for the budget

deficit.

During the next two weeks,

Williams will be doing a more detailed evaluation of the budget and bringing

more precise figures to the City Council.