Roswell mayor says he'll veto city budget

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Roswell City Council is in for a fight over the $93 million budget it passed last week.

Mayor Jere Wood has announced he plans to veto the city's 2011 spending plan because it allows for nearly $2 million in deficit spending.

"For the first time in memory ... the City Council has voted to spend more to run Roswell’s government than we expect to receive," Wood said in a letter issued by his office Friday.

The council voted unanimously June 21 to amend Wood's original budget and restore six of 10 positions the mayor had intended to cut from the Department of Community Development. Those 10 positions amounted to more than $430,000 in savings.

Wood said the city was on a collision course with deficits if it did not trim its workforce to reflect the economy.

But the council proposed its own cost-saving measures to compensate for preserving jobs. It trimmed spending on vehicle and video camera replacement, road safety programs and facilities maintenance. It also voted to eliminate a part-time position in the mayor's office, a move that clearly did not sit well with Wood.

In an effort to resist the amendments, Wood stalled a vote until the council explained each change in detail.

In the end, the council voted unanimously in favor of its amended budget.

"I am vetoing the budget so that the council will consider cutting expenses, rather than spending more than we receive," Wood said in his letter.

Roswell's city code requires a two-thirds vote of the six-member council to override a veto. The council's next meeting is July 12.

The mayor and council members were attending the annual Georgia Municipal Association convention in Savannah this weekend and were not available for comment.