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THE TRUTH SINCE 1886
FAYETTE COUNTY (1) NEWS
f ay ett e-news, net
Vol. 151, No. 28 Wednesday, July 12, 2023 $1.
Fayetteville Eyes $40.9 Million FY24 Budget
Council Moves to Monthly Meetings
Luke Haney
Editor
lhaney@upsonbeacon.com
Fayetteville City Council
held the first of two public
hearings for the proposed
$40.9 million Fiscal Year
2024 budget, a balanced
budget approximately $2.9
million less than FY23, dur
ing the July 6 council meet
ing.
The second public hear
ing and potential approval
of the budget will take place
during the council’s July 20
meeting.
Introduced by City Man
ager Ray Gibson, Director of
Finance and Administrative
Services Mike Bush pre
sented the budget, high
lighting changes between
the current and proposed
budgets.
The general fund budget
accounts for about $24.3
million, or 59.38 percent, of
the total budget. While the
city will not receive Ameri
can Rescue Plan Spending
(ARPA) funds this year, re
maining ARPA funds from
FY23 are to be moved into
the general fund at the end
of the 2023 budget cycle.
A reduction of $438,000
in the Capital Projects Fund
is attributed to new police
vehicles that will be funded
through 2023 special pur
pose local option sales tax
fund collections. Collections
for the 2017 SPLOST ended
June 30, and 2023 SPLOST
fund collections began July
1.
Prior to Bush’s presenta
tion, Gibson highlighted up
dates to the city’s strategic
plan, which is set to be
adopted alongside the
budget.
Gibson said when cre-
See Fayetteville, A6
Qualifying
in August for
F’ville Mayor,
Council
Qualifying will open in
August for the Nov. 7 munic
ipal general election to decide
the mayor and Fayetteville
City Council Posts 1 and 2, ac
cording to city officials.
Incumbents are Mayor
Edward Johnson, Jr., Post 1
representative Darryl Lang
ford, and Post 2 representa
tive Joe Clark. All seats will
be filled for a four-year term
beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
The qualifying fee for
mayor will be $342, and
council seats will be $234
each. Dates for qualifying are
set for Aug. 21-25.
If a runoff election is
needed following the Nov. 7
election, it will be held on
Dec. 5.
For more information,
contact Fayetteville City Hall,
located at 210 Stonewall Ave
nue West in Fayetteville, by
calling 770-461-6029.
Matheny
Appointed
to Tyrone PC
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
During the July 6 Ty
rone Town Council meeting,
council members unani
mously approved the ap
pointment of Brad Matheny
to represent Post 2 of the
Tyrone Planning Commis
sion.
“It is my desire to have
him considered for the open
position of planning com
missioner,” Mayor Eric Dial
See Matheny, A6
Brigitte Greer/Fayette News
Parade on PTC Parkway
Peachtree City held its 50th annual Fourth of July parade on the morning of
July 4. Parade-goers lined Peachtree Parkivay to catch candy, ivave to the
procession, and cheer for their favorite floats. See additional information
and photos, Page A2.
From left are Fayette County Commission Chair Lee Hearn, En
vironmental Management Project Manager Matt Bergen, and
Gov. Brian Kemp. Courtesy of Fayette County
Bergen Named Statewide
Member of Georgia UFPA
Advisory Committee
Fayette County Environ
mental Management Proj
ect Manager Matt Bergen
was sworn in by Gov. Brian
Kemp as the statewide
member of the Georgia Un
derground Facility Protec
tion Act Advisory
Committee during a cere
mony on June 28 at the gov
ernor’s ceremonial office of
the Georgia state capital.
The committee assists
the Georgia Public Service
Commission when a vio
lator disputes a ruling of the
public service commis
sioners.
The violation infor
mation and associated doc
umentation is submitted to
the Georgia Underground
Facility Protection Act Advi
sory Committee for review.
The committee reviews the
violation and makes rec
ommendations to the com
mission as to the appropri
ate penalties to impose on
the violator.
Bergen said the appoint
ment came after many years
of collaboration with others.
“It’s an honor because
Fayette County is repre
sented at the state level on
behalf of the other counties.
I’m the one that got to stand
there, but there's an army of
people who help me be ef
fective in what I do,” Bergen
said. “Without the multiple
departments and utilities
surrounding me internally
and externally, I couldn’t do
what I do. My goal was al
ways to make sure all en
tities were treated fairly in
the process.”
“Matt’s knowledge, un
derstanding, and contacts
throughout the utility in-
See Bergen, A6
Council Recognizes Fayetteville Emerging Leaders Program Graduates
Fayetteville City Council recognized city staff members ivho
recently graduated from the city’s eight-month Emerging
Leaders program during the July 6 council meeting.
The program is comprised of three core areas: success ivith
self, success ivith results, and success with people.
City Manager Ray Gibson told council members that the
program “went very well” and expressed hope to start the next
program in October.
Staff members recognized include Karen Austin, Tyrone
Beard, Elvis Berisha, Carlos Calderon, Jason Champion, Justin
Evans, Justin Evans, Nicole Gilbert, Danny Harrison, Whitney
Houston, Joshua Meade, Matt Noel, Tina Rich, Jessica Smith,
and Cornelius Webster.
Above, attending graduates stand with members of the city
council.
Luke Haney/Fayette News
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