Peachtree Corners laid the foundation for its fledgling government Thursday, adopting a $2.7 million budget and signing off on a lease agreement for new city offices.
The City Council approved those measures against the backdrop of a festive weekend launch of the new city and renewed skepticism from residents who fought incorporation of the area. Peachtree Corners, the first new city in Gwinnett County in 56 years, will officially begin operations at midnight Saturday.
For nearly a month, many residents have crowded into council meetings at the Robert D. Fowler YMCA to voice their concerns over excessive spending and broken promises about the scope of the new government. They returned in the same numbers and with the same intensity Thursday night.
"They're failing to give everyone what they promised," said Mim Harris, a Peachtree Corners resident for the past 11 years. "It seems like politics as usual."
Council members voted 6-1 to approve the budget for fiscal year 2013, the first time in three months they haven't managed unanimous support for an item. Councilman Alex Wright cast the dissenting vote but offered no explanation for his objection.
Before the vote, councilwoman Jeanne Aulbach proposed a series of modifications that addressed resident concerns about the budget. Among them: reducing expenses for several line items, including the call center and office furniture, and moving roughly $120,000 to the general fund; a mid-year budget review; and specific controls on the way money in the reserve fund can be used.
The council approved Aulbach's proposals unanimously.
Prior to the final vote, council member Phil Sadd expressed frustration at being unable to predict the financial challenges the new city might face.
"I feel like, as a whole, the budget been set up to cover the worst-case scenario," Sadd said. "There's a lot of unknowns."
Council members later agreed to a five-month deal for office space at 147 Technology Parkway N.W. with automatic annual renewals through 2017. If the city stays at the property through the life of the contract, the cost would run about $126,000.
City leaders will meet again 11 p.m. Saturday and then at midnight Saturday at the Atlanta Hilton on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. They plan to celebrate the start of the new city and finalize items that will allow the transfer of some services from Gwinnett to the city.
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