DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond will delivered the FY2018 budget to the Board of Commissioners on Dec. 15.
“We have gotten our fiscal house in order by ending deficit spending and building a $75 million fund balance, or rainy day fund. We must take the next critical step and address long-festering issues that are threatening to undermine the quality of life in DeKalb,” CEO Thurmond said.
He added that his administration’s top priorities for FY2018 include repairing DeKalb’s deteriorating roads and reducing homeowner property taxes using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. Also, the proposed FY2018 budget calls for increasing the number of sworn police officers on patrol, preventing juvenile delinquency and improving customer service for residents who utilize county services.
If the budget proposal is approved by the Board of Commissioners, all county employees whose salaries have not been adjusted since 2016 will receive a 2 percent increase in pay. A minimum wage of $14 per hour will also be established for all full-time and regular part-time employees. Even with the proposed enhancements, the FY2018 general tax fund budget of $603.3 million is projected to decrease by $3.2 million from $606.5 million in FY2017.
The revenue assumptions are based on an anticipated 3 percent growth in the ad valorem tax digest.
The Board of Commissioners will vote on the budget by Feb. 28.
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