For the first time in at least 10 years, Powder Springs residents will pay more for their millage rate - from 8.5 to 9.5.
That means someone residing in a home in Powder Springs - with an average fair market value of $175,000 - will pay annual increases of $68 or, if older than age 65, then $58, said City Manager Pam Conner.
The vote on July 18 was 3-2 - just as it was on June 4 when the Council approved the Fiscal Year 2019 budget - with Councilwomen Nancy Farmer and Patricia Wisdom opposed as they were then.
In favor were Councilwoman Doris Dawkins and Councilmen Patrick Bordelon and Henry Lust.
While not voting, Mayor Al Thurman said, “We are going to need more money as the city grows and services are needed. Those employees will go somewhere else rather than be worked to death.”
As an example, Thurman said the city’s finance director Diana Belanger has gone to a different job that will not require as much time away from her children.
Wisdom said she is concerned for city residents having to pay more city and possibly county millage rates; more city, Cobb County School District and county property taxes and more county water rates “all at one time.”
However, if the city sells its water system to Cobb, on a monthly average, Bordelon explained the city fee changes will be $2 to $8 for the millage increase but a decrease of $20 to $25 for county water, resulting in a monthly savings of $12 to $17 for the city’s residents.
Yet Farmer said there would not be those water savings from the county if a resident has an irrigation system.
If the city sells its water system to the county, Farmer said, “After 10 years, we won’t get any more money from the county. We’ll be broke.”
Earlier this year during town hall meetings, Belanger said there would be a city budget shortfall of $384,435.
The balanced $18,633,938 budget is effective July 1 through June 30, 2019.
FY19 Budget: CityOfPowderSprings.org/DocumentCenter/View/4649, CityOfPowderSprings.org/DocumentCenter/View/4824/FY2019-City-of-Powder-Springs-Budget-Book
About the Author
