Playing a little catch up here this morning.  Luckily the AJC is helping me out!

The city commission officially voted on the coming fiscal year’s budget on Monday, holding the millage rate at 13.035.

Here’s the money quote from the AJC article (pun intended)…

The spending plan includes money to renovate the main firehouse, redesign the city’s website and upgrade equipment in municipal parks.

The city will also begin longer-term initiatives next year, including a strategic plan for the city, a proposed urban agriculture program and a master for the Beacon Complex that now houses the city’s police department.

As always, while DeKalb and Atlanta garner front-page stories with dramatic budget cuts and tax hikes, prudent ol’ Decatur can’t even get on the front page of the Metro section, even though its the standout in this situation.  A city that saved during the economic boom and can now temper changes by dipping into reserves seems unheard of in the 21st century.

So, I’d like to give a standing ovation to everyone involved who had the foresight to save in a world driven to spend, spend, spend.  You deserve it!

After seeing the AJC article about Decatur being one of three cities with increased tax values, I was curious about specifics.  At tonight’s City Commission meeting, City Manager Peggy Merriss laid those details out on the table, literally and figuratively.

The city lost 4 million in property values in the past fiscal (?) year, but gained 30 million from new construction.

Even so, the city will use 1.3 million over the next two years to cover the gap between revenues and expenditures, without cutting programs or raising the millage.

I believe I heard someone say that the full budget will be available online this coming Wednesday.