Roswell mayor says no property tax increases

Roswell is getting through the economic recession as well as can be expected, said the city’s three-term Mayor Jere Wood, in an annual state of the city address delivered Thursday to members of the Kiwanis Club.

Wood told a lunchtime audience that he would not recommend a pay raise for city employees in the upcoming budget, which begins in July, but that he also did not anticipate job furloughs or layoffs.

For property owners, he promised no tax increases.

The city has collected $2.1 million less than it anticipated in tax revenues this year, Wood said, including $1 million in sales taxes. But he said the shortfalls could be made up by not filling open positions, freezing salaries and other belt-tightening measures.

“You can’t talk about the state of the city of Roswell without talking about the state of the economy,” he said. “I believe we’ve fared better than most cities.”

Wood shared several statistics that speak to the faltering economy. In 2007, the city issued permits for $200 million in new construction, he said. In 2008, that amount fell to $57 million.

Foreclosures also have hit Roswell, Wood said, although in lesser numbers than other communities. In December, he said, Roswell had 57 foreclosures. That same month, Alpharetta had 84 and Atlanta had 1,150.