DeKalb budget would increase taxes, services

- Hiring 25 more police officers and re-assigning officers from the north precinct, where the creation of Brookhaven has reduced the need for patrols.

- Giving the lowest paid workers a 3 percent cost of living adjustment. The move would cost $1.5 million and be given to employees earning $37,700 or less.

- Refinancing bond debt, to eliminate a year’s worth of payments for expenses such as Grady Hospital. Expected savings are about $10 million.

Property taxes could inch up in DeKalb County next year, a move that will help offset money lost from the creation of Brookhaven but also hire more police officers to patrol county streets.

CEO Burrell Ellis will make his proposed $562.7 million budget public Friday. Speaking exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday, he said the spending plan is based on prioritizing key citizen concerns while recognizing the need to keep cutting government spending.

Ellis has cut county spending by more than $100 million since taking office four years ago. The proposed 2013 budget includes another $22.8 million in cuts.

“People understand the sacrifices we as a government have been willing to make, but they do not want the cuts to extend to hurting their quality of life,” Ellis said.

With those expectations in mind, Ellis and representatives from the county commission began working together on a budget proposal three months ago.

The newly cooperative relationship has led some commissioners, who previously battled over recommended spending, to signal they are open to the county’s second tax hike in three years.

“We could realize some real savings this year, but we are going to continue to discuss all options,” said Commissioner Lee May, head of the commission’s budget committee.

The proposed budget calls for a 1.69 mill increase to the county’s current 21.21 millage rate. That is about $49 more a year for a home in unincorporated DeKalb valued at $200,000.

The $17.8 million raised from the tax hike would help cover the $36 million lost in property taxes and fees such as business licenses form the creation of Brookhaven.

The city officially begins operations Monday, though the county is expected to provide most services for residents there into the spring.

DeKalb had been expected to at least close its north police precinct once the city begins its own department next year.

Instead, Ellis’ proposal calls for re-assigning the 70-plus street officers from that area and adding to the county’s 1,120-sworn force.

Cuts instead will come from refinancing bonds – about $10 million in one-time savings that will reappear in the 2014 budget. The rest will come from outsourcing proposals that will use private vendors to deliver some services, such as ambulance response, Ellis said.

Overall, the proposed 2013 budget is 1 percent larger than the current year plan. Some of that is due to increases in pension and healthcare costs, though $1.5 million would be spent on the first employee raises in five years.

The recommendation calls for the county’s lowest paid workers, earning $37,700 or less, to receive a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment.

Many of those employees work for the county's sanitation department, though some clerical staff and others are included.

The county commission will have final say on the proposal. It must vote on a spending plan by the end of February.

Ellis will make his formal presentation to the board at 2 p.m. Friday at the Clark Harrison Building on West Ponce de Leon Avenue in downtown Decatur.