After six public hearings and well over a dozen hours of citizen comment and debate, Peachtree City's leaders are still locking horns over the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.
The sticking point is not if taxes should increase, but by how much.
During Thursday's city council meeting, a shaky 3-2 split broke down after Post 1 Councilman Eric Imker announced that he remains uncommitted to both the 0.5 mill and 1.25 mill property tax increase proposals.
"Folks knew I was going to come in here and shake things up on expenditures," Imker stated.
"If you're not going to make further cuts, the 1.25 mill model makes the most sense. But, I'm not ready to commit. There is no motion on the table."
Councilwomen Vanessa Fleisch and Kim Learnard support a 1.25 mill increase, which will cost the average homeowner about $145 in additional taxes this fall. Mayor Don Haddix said he thought Imker had joined Fleisch and Learnard to form a 3-2 majority, allowing the 1.25 model to be presented at Thursday's official public hearing.
However, Imker said he does not support the 1.25 mill increase, but given the choice, he wants the city to get its $18 million projected 5-year shortfall under control as soon as possible.
"If we're not going to make the cuts, we need this money now, up front, to pay for the losses coming when SPLOST goes away and we lose a share of our sales tax dollars," Imker said.
Haddix and Councilman Doug Sturbaum support a more modest 0.5 mill tax increase. However, under the five year model generated by City Finance Director Paul Salvatore, a 0.5 mill increase will lead to a higher overall property tax rate in 2015 -- if service levels remain the same.
Both Haddix and Sturbaum are also calling for the Development Authority of Peachtree City to receive a nearly five-fold increase in its current operating budget, giving the Authority $150,000 and full time employee next year.
Neither Learnard nor Fleisch are on board with the extra Development Authority funding. Fleisch said she has seen no metrics to justify the figure. Learnard presented a compromise proposal that would have added a part time employee to the city's Planning and Zoning department who would also work part time as a staffer for the Development Authority. While Haddix insisted that such a sharing of employees is not legal, Learnard pointed to the city of Alpharetta, where a staffer currently splits time with the development authority and that city.
"I have sought a compromise that would be advantageous to Mark [Hollums, the DAPC Chairman] and support both entities," said Learnard.
"I did the research, I brought this to the table. No other compromise has been brought to the table. Mr. Mayor, can you honestly say that you've come together and worked with these three other city council members, listened to their ideas and worked toward a compromise?"
Haddix said funding the development authority is the best way to get the city away from "constantly looking at the property tax payers to fix our problems."
"The development authority is the best way to get new industry in town and grow our economy," Haddix said.
With neither Haddix and Sturbaum nor Fleisch and Learnard appearing to be inching toward common ground, Imker likely holds the deciding budget vote.
One brief comment indicated that Imker may jump on board with the pair who include the most expenditure cuts in their plan.
"I will not support a tax increase at all as long as the city is funding two separate retirement plans for employees," Imker stated.
For more in depth information on the Peachtree City budget negotiations, the five year outlook and the results of previous budget public meetings, visit our Web site: www.fayette-news.com and browse our archives.
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