Wednesday, July 25, 2001
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Wednesday, July 25, 2001 |
| Rapson: Trim
PTC's budget
By JOHN MUNFORD
Cutting Peachtree City's proposed 2002 budget won't be easy, but it is necessary, argues Councilman Steve Rapson. Rapson's fellow council members agreed, at least in part, and directed city staff to look at budget cuts in capital projects and other areas after an hour-long budget meeting Thursday evening. The proposed budget represents a $1.15 million increase, mostly due to a 6.73-percent hike in the operating budget and lease-purchasing plans for new facilities and equipment. At the council's first budget hearing last week, Rapson said the budget could be trimmed in a variety of ways. He presented a plan that would eliminate the need for a millage increase this year and increase the city's cash reserves by 30 percent. Rapson suggested eliminating some capital projects, cutting requests for new employees, realigning department budgets and shrinking the council contingency fund by $200,000. "You have to go to your capital plan and start making tough decisions simply because you can't afford to do those things," Rapson said. Rapson also suggested shrinking budgets of departments which have a number of positions vacant throughout the entire year, such as the Police Department. With a civic center and other projects proposed for a bond referendum in November, it's important to hold down property taxes this year because those projects will require a millage rate increase once they are opened, Rapson noted. "Our last resort should be to increase property taxes," Rapson said. Mayor Bob Lenox said he worried that budget cuts could decrease the level of service local residents have come to expect. Rapson said when council evaluates the budget, even public safety requests should be scrutinized. For example, he asked whether the city would actually need a fire station for the West Village area, a question that drew criticism from several sides. "Public safety is the last thing I'd touch," said Councilwoman Annie McMenamin. Councilwoman Carol Fritz agreed, noting that the station is needed to cover existing gaps in response time. No funds for the station are included in the proposed budget for 2002, however. To cover the proposed budget increase, city staff had recommended a .91 millage increase to council. Last year, council rolled back the millage rate and "balanced" the budget with $1.4 million from the cash reserve. That decision was a mistake, said Mayor Bob Lenox. "We said we could cut the millage rate so there would be no tax increase," Lenox said. "And now we're going to pay for it." Basinger said "it wouldn't be good business" for the city to dip into the cash reserves again to balance the budget. Recently, council passed a slate of financial policies requiring the city to have its cash reserves built up by the 2004 budget year. At the end of this year, the cash reserves are projected to reach over $2.09 million, higher than the original $1.4 million estimate. City Finance Director Paul Salvatore said that assumes a $500,000 carryover from the city council's contingency fund, and over two months is left in the budget year, so he asked council to steer away from relying on those funds if possible. If council chooses a lower millage but doesn't cut the budget, the money would likely come out of the cash reserves, according to city officials. Salvatore said increasing the millage slightly over the next few years would improve the city's bond rating.
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