Newspaper Page Text
COMMUNITY
City’s downtown plans
drain budget
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
stands. Other council members said
changing the priority list would destroy
a method meant to keep politics out of
spending decisions.
City Council will vote on the Fis
cal Year 2014 budget in June. City staff
members say there is $4.5 million avail
able for citywide capital projects, the
smallest amount in six years.
The projects, sometimes called “pri
ority” projects, are a list of items that
the council wants to spend money on
through any given budget. They include
things like road paving and traffic man
agement projects.
The task of dividing up a smaller
amount of money is
causing some council
members to second-
guess how the coun
cil sets its spending
priorities.
Councilman and
Mayor Pro Tem Tib-
by Dejulio, who
is serving as may
or while Mayor Eva
Galambos recov
ers from surgery,
said council mem
bers must make a
hard choice this year.
He rejected Meinzen
McEnerny’s sugges
tion that city staff
take another look at
the numbers to find
more money.
“The only way we
have to raise reve
nue that’s guaranteed
right now is to cut
expenses or raise tax
es, which were not
going to do,” Deju
lio said. “I think our
staff has found what
our staff is going to
find.”
Meinzen McEnerny and Collins ar
gued that the city is putting too much
taxpayer money in reserves. This year’s
budget proposal sets aside reserves to
taling 31 percent of the city’s operat
ing expenses. In prior years, the city has
budgeted 25 percent of its operating ex
penses for its reserves.
City staff members and other coun
cil members say they want to budget as
conservatively as possible this year and
have money to cover unexpected costs.
Collins said the city already has enough
in reserves to do that.
“Stuffing all of your money under the
mattress is conservative, too, but it’s not
necessarily the smart thing,” Collins said.
Meinzen McEnerny said the city
projects large surpluses each year and
should use it to benefit taxpayers.
“The surpluses in the past have got
ten to $12, $15, $20 million,” Meinzen
McEnerny said. “At some point we need
to start giving some of this money back.”
The biggest change in the FY 2014
budget is the cost of building the city’s
downtown.
This year the city is budgeting $13.5
million for its city center project, a de
cade-long effort expected to cost up
wards of $100 million. City staff is also
predicting a $3 million decline in tax
collections.
Sandy Springs’ method for select
ing capital spending projects is unusu
al compared with other cities. City elec
tions are this November. If the current
budget passes, council members will
have to explain to voters why the city
isn’t building their walking bridge or fix
ing up the tennis cen
ter.
Their explanation
will go something
like this: Each year
during budget time,
city staff gives coun
cil members a list
of projects and asks
them to rank each
one. City staff then
budgets accordingly.
In prior years, the
council had more
money to spread
around the project
list. In Fiscal 2011,
the city budget
ed $18 million. This
year, Fiscal 2013, the
city budgeted $12.6
million.
Meinzen
McEnerny and Col
lins also asked if the
city could spend less
money on its down
town project. City
Manager John Mc
Donough said the
money will be need
ed to buy additional
property and to pay
for a project manager.
Collins suggested pulling money out
of the Abernathy Greenway Linear Park
project in Fiscal 2014 so Lost Corner
Preserve won’t be left off the list. Lack
of funds could keep Lost Corner from
opening this year, he said.
“They’re telling me we don’t have
funding for the completion of the drive
way and parking lots,” Collins said.
Pulling money out of Abernathy
would be another setback for that park,
which is already months behind sched
ule.
Other city council members said
moving the money around would be in
viting politics into the mix.
“Essentially that just blows up our pro
cess,” Councilman Gabriel Sterling said.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think we should
deviate from a process we’ve done for
seven years,” Councilwoman Dianne
Fries said.
“The only way we have
to raise revenue that’s
guaranteed right now
is to cut expenses or
raise taxes, which we’re
not going to do.”
- TIBBY DEJULIO
COUNCILMAN AND
MAYOR PRO TEM
* ~ _2SS£l£Prrrl
Let us show you the way
770.952.8300 a 800.326.4971 • Open 7 Days * the-cruise-authority.com
nm
mm
$100 OBC offer applies to 6-night or longer cruise or cruisetour departing 7/1/13-4/30/15; bookings must be in veranda, Concierge Class,
AquaClass or suite categories. Cruise must be booked 4/1-6/30/13. Excludes Celebrity Xpedition. One OBC offer per stateroom. Offer open only
to residents of GA. Address will be verifited at pier. Single occupancy bookings eligible. Offer has no cash value, is applicable to cruise only,
non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00pm on the final night of the cruise. Ships’ registration: Malta.
A Prices are per person, double occupancy, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn without prior notification.
THE CRUISE
AUTHORITY
ss
www.ReporterNewspapers.net | MAY 17—MAY30,2013 | 5