The numbers

have been crunched and squeezed, redistributed and neatly stacked until

they are sitting evenly balanced across Palmetto's new city budget.

With only an

8 percent increase in expenditures, the City Council passed its 2003-2004,

$6.6 million dollar budget Monday night.

The budget

went into effect July 1 by a unanimous vote with the exception of Councilman

Bill Burnham who was absent due to illness.

Bill Shell,

city administrator said there were "not any drastic changes"

in the budget this year.

The millage

rate will remain steady at 4.5 mills for the time being. After more input

from Coweta County, it could change in November, Shell said.

With some expenditures

going to the upkeep of computers, a capital outlay of $30,000 for building

remodeling is a new expense.

Small increases

in salaries for police officials and city workers take into account the

continued rise of the cost of goods and services.

Sales of electricity

are projected to grow by almost $400,000. Water and sewage will also bring

in a good share of money.

More revenue

is expected from various taxes such as ad valorum and insurance premium

tax. Building permit fees are looking to double in the coming year.

"It's

a difficult equation to solve but one that Mr. Shell was equal to,"

said Councilman John Farr. Farr thanked Shell for the "excellent

job" he did on this year's budget.