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The Dunwoody City Council held a public hearing Oct. 10 on its proposed 2023 $30.1 million budget, which will dip slightly into the city’s reserves.
The proposed budget reflects revenue that will be generated from last year’s millage rate increase from 2.74 to 3.04, but officials said that Dunwoody still has the lowest aggregate tax rate in the metro area.
The budget includes a 4% market adjustment to be paid to public safety and other staff in the first pay period of 2023, and $2.75 million in road resurfacing funds that will be matched with $450,000 in state funds. The proposed budget also includes $515,000 to cover rising healthcare premiums, which are about 20 percent higher than 2021.
In July, the council approved a millage rate increase from 2.74 to 3.04 mills to generate about $1 million in revenue.
In addition, $600,000 has been designated to launch a pilot ambulance program that will assist in helping reduce response time within the city limits. Council Member Tom Lambert, the chairman of the panel’s budget committee, said the pilot program, which would span three years, will be evaluated on an annual basis to measure its effectiveness.
“We will look at this at the end of 2023, and if it’s not working, we can eliminate it,” Lambert said. “We are not obligated to continue the program for three years.”
Mayor Lynn Deutsch said the proposed ambulance pilot program expenditure is “still in the exploratory stages” and that the $600,000 budget is a “ballpark figure.”
As it has been in previous years, the majority of the budget — this year about $11 million — is designated to fund the city’s police department. The parks department portion totals about 12 percent, or about $3.1 million, of the budget. Public works’ expenditures will total about $3 million or 10 percent of the 2023 budget.
Jay Vinicki, the city’s assistant city manager, said the proposed budget, even with the millage rate increase, will reduce the city’s surplus fund by $2 million, but added, “we are still looking at a robust budget reserve.”
Council Member John Heneghan said he was concerned that the 2023 budget involves a “structural deficit” that could reduce the city’s surplus and may force the need for yet another increase in the millage rate in 2024. He questioned several expenditures for sidewalks around the city, saying “I thought we had walked some of these back because of feedback from the public.”
Deutsch said she realizes “the elephant in the room is that this (deficit position) is not sustainable in the future, and we will need to have a community discussion and make hard decisions in the future.”
“However, there are some exciting things in the future that may affect our digest,” she said. “We just don’t know what is going to come next. There are a lot of moving pieces.”
During the public hearing portion of the meeting, Bob Hickey, a frequent commentator at recent meetings, said the budget “needs to be sent back.”
“We are living beyond our means,” Hickey said. “This is the most irresponsible budget ever proposed in the 13-year history of the city.”
Hickey said he is concerned that Dunwoody’s growing budget will mean that the city will no longer be an affordable option for young residents.
“I’m doing this for my grandchildren,” he said. “We are making it impossible for them to live in our city.”
The budget will be discussed at the next two council meetings and will be passed at the Oct. 24 meeting.
In other action, the council:
- Heard from several residents living near construction of a sidewalk on Peeler Road who said they were concerned about the potential loss of trees as the sidewalk is installed;
- Listened to a report from Dunwoody City Manager Eric Linton, who said the city has completed its 2022 paving projects. Manhole covers are still being installed in several areas throughout the city;
- Heard from Dunwoody Economic Development Director Michael Starling that the Georgetown Gateway Project is slated for completion by the end of 2023;
- Approved a resolution to declare obsolete technology equipment for disposition;
- Approved the appointment of Scott Brown to the city’s planning commission.
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