McDonough council approves $31.2 million budget

The McDonough City Council voted at its June 22 meeting to approve a $31,237,059 budget for the 2021 fiscal year.

The vote was 5-0, with council members Kamali Varner and Sandra Vincent absent from the meeting at the time of the vote. The budget reflects a 3.086 millage rate, which is the same as the previous year, according to city staff. There are no employee compensation increases in the new budget and a hiring freeze is in place on all non-essential positions, with essential hiring deferred until at least January of 2021.

Finance director Mike Clark said the city is focusing on existing services and projects, with future projects being deferred whenever possible. A deficit that was previously projected at $3.3 million was reduced to $1.8 million, he added, and the impact of COVID-19 has resulted in a 28.97-percent drop in hotel-motel tax revenues.