The Woodstock City Council has accepted on first reading a proposed budget for the 2019 fiscal year that calls for a 2.5 percent cost-of-living pay raise for eligible city employees and an unchanged millage rate of 6.808 mills. A second and final reading and adoption of the budget is scheduled for the June 11 council meeting.
The budget envisions spending of $42.04 million, up from $41.33 million in fiscal 2018. This includes a 3 percent decrease in the general fund, to $20.56 million. The net property tax digest is expected to be up by 4 percent before appeals and exemptions.
About $337,000 in impact fees will pay for a downtown playground and restroom, and $300,000, for the restoration of the Reeves House as a Visual Arts Center, among other expenditures.
SPLOST funds would be tapped for $791,560 for the Ridge Trail Extension, $726,480 for 15 new police vehicles, $105,517 for 50 body-worn cameras for the police, $84,780 for two replacement fire trucks, and various street, sidewalk, water, sewer, parks, trails, technology and other spending.
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