Fulton budget raises taxes, cuts spending

*Fulton will reduce its operating subsidy for Grady Memorial Hospital from $50 million to $45 million.

*Breakfast at local senior centers will cost 50 cents more, while lunch will cost $1 more. County residents will pay a $25 annual membership fee at senior centers.

*Commissioners voted 5 to 2 to approve the budget. Supporting it were Chairman John Eaves, Vice Chairwoman Emma Darnell and Commissioners Bill Edwards, Joan Garner and Tom Lowe. Opposing the budget were Commissioners Liz Hausmann and Robb Pitts.

A 2014 budget that raises Fulton County property taxes countywide for the first time since 1991 and cuts spending for libraries, Grady Memorial Hospital and other services was approved by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners Monday .

The 15 percent tax rate hike - which won’t be formally approved until this summer - would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $65.55 a year. Most libraries will close one or two days a week, and seniors will pay a new membership fee as well as higher prices for meals at local senior centers.

The tax increase puts the county on a collision course with Republicans in the General Assembly, who last year passed a law prohibiting Fulton from raising property taxes until 2015. They say Wednesday’s action violates that law.

“It will have to be resolved in the courts,” said Rep. Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta. “But that would be disappointing to see Fulton County’s tax dollars spent trying to defend such a blatantly illegal act.”

County Commission Chairman John Eaves said the budget cuts spending while maintaining services like libraries at higher levels than surrounding counties. He said he’s confident the tax increase is legal.

“I just think (state lawmakers) need to stop meddling in our affairs,” Eaves said.

Commissioners faced a $99 million gap in their proposed $569 million general fund budget, which pays for countywide services like libraries, courts, elections and social services. To help close that gap, they raised the property tax rate from $10.28 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to $11.85. The increase will generate about $55.5 million.

Fulton also will cut spending on numerous services, though in most cases not as deeply as originally planned.

It will cut $5 million in funding for health care for low-income people at Grady Memorial Hospital. That's far less than the $25 million cut originally proposed. Grady spends about $200 million a year caring for the poor and uninsured, much of it from federal and state sources.

To save money, Fulton also will close most libraries one or two days a week (they’re currently open seven days). That means 70 part-time library employees will lose their jobs, and 57 full-time positions will be eliminated.

Eaves said Fulton libraries will still be open more hours than those in surrounding counties.

“I love our libraries,” he said. “I just want us to understand everybody’s going to have to give a little bit.”

The budget also increases spending in some areas. Employees will get a 3 percent raise – their first in seven years – at a cost of $8.5 million.

Fulton also will spend another $3.5 million to pay off the accrued vacation time of employees who leave. That will allow the county to pay off their remaining vacation balance when they leave and replace them sooner. Eaves said that will help alleviate staffing problems at the county jail, which is under the supervision of a federal court judge because of overcrowding.

Response to the budget, approved by a 5 to 2 vote, was mixed.

Julian Winnerman of Sandy Springs was glad the final budget restored cuts originally proposed to senior programs. Seniors will pay 50 cents more for breakfast and $1 more for lunch, plus a $25 membership fee for county residents.

Winnerman said the $25 fee is a bargain, but he worried some seniors might not be able to afford it.

Lindsay Caulfield, Grady’s senior vice president of public affairs, said the hospital was relieved by the smaller budget cut and will do all it can to minimize its impact. But she said Grady can no longer absorb budget cuts without affecting its operations.

Republicans in the General Assembly took exception to the budget. They say Fulton spends too much and last year passed a series of bills designed to rein in county spending. Among them bills: a ban on raising property taxes until 2015.

Citing their home rule authority, county commissioners last summer voted to repeal that law. They say the state law is now void, and Monday’s tax increase is legal.

Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, disputes that. She suggested the tax hike may inspire additional legislation.

“If niceties like a state law or the federal (court) order to clean up the jail don’t cause Fulton to get its act together, what will?” Jones said. “I suggest much more reform.”