06.22 Ledger 01 - Index of - The Cherokee Ledger-News

4 THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS NEWS JUNE 22, 2011
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Ball Ground budget up 2 percent
BY JESSICA WAGNER
jessicaw@ledgernews.com
The city of Ball Ground will
operate on a slightly higher budget
this year, which Mayor Rick
Roberts said was a reflection of
the city controlling its spending in
order to avoid tax increases.
City Manager Eric Wilmarth
agreed, lauding all departments
for being fiscally responsible.
“The department heads did an
excellent job keeping expenses
under control and managing their
money,” he said. “At this point, we
will finish the year without one
department requiring a safe-corrective
action report in general
operations.”
The new fiscal year will begin
July 1 with a $1.654 million budget,
which is roughly 2 percent
higher than the 2010 fiscal year.
Along with reining in expenditures,
Roberts said the budget
also reflected an increase in the
Special Purpose Local Options
Sales Tax (SPLOST) and the
general fund.
As for the operating budget,
Wilmarth said in a letter to the
council and mayor that “the overall
proposed (general fund) budget
is for $580,650, which represents
an increase of $17,893 over the previous
year.”
In this same letter dated June 13,
Wilmarth highlighted the city’s
revenue projections as follows:
business and occupation tax—
$16,000; property tax—$285,000;
and property tax from the prior
year—$20,000, with $15,000 allocated
for street light expenditures.
According to Wilmarth, the city
has budgeted for a slight increase
in electrical franchise fees, but
a decline in natural gas and
telephone service fees.
Projected expenditures for the
upcoming fiscal year include: a
$4,000 increase in the city council
budget line for training and travel
combined; an increase of $2,000 in
the administrative expenditures
line for two new computers; a reduction
of parks and recreation
maintenance (not projects) in the
amount of $1,100; and a reduction
of $5,000 in the administrative
expenditures line,
with roughly $4,000 of
this being a decline in
the salaries and
wages line.
“This portion of
annual salary has
been moved into the
solid waste budget
to account for the
salary of the cus-
Wilmarth
tomer service representative
who handles all of the solid waste
accounts,” Wilmarth said in the
letter.
In addition to projected
revenues and expenditures,
Wilmarth said the city is budgeting
$10,579 for “contingency.”
“These are dollars that are set
aside to offset revenue shortfalls,
or to handle expenses that become
more than anticipated,” he said in
a letter to mayor and council.
The full budget is available for
review on the city’s Web site at
www.cityofballground.com.
COUNCIL ADOPTS URBAN
REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
The city council also approved
the Technology Ridge Redevelopment
Plan and Opportunity Zone
jointly with Canton and Cherokee
County in hopes of bringing
businesses, jobs and residents to
the area.
According to Roberts, the area
from Riverstone Parkway to
Howell Bridge Road could be
classified as a development zone,
which would allow for tax credit of
up to $3,500 for each job created.
“This is a nicely put together
plan that will bring business to
Ball Ground. That’s what we are
looking for,” he said.
While the concept of the Technology
Ridge Redevelopment Plan
has been around for sometime,
the opportunity zone is a new
approach targeting the creation of
jobs along the corridor.
“I am just real excited that we
are a part of this. Once Technology
Park in Canton builds out, that
could become an employment
center for 10,000 people,” Roberts
said. “They will have to live
somewhere, and we are hoping
they live in Ball Ground.”
A public hearing concerning
the budget, as well as the
consideration of this joint
plan, was held. No one spoke.
CITY AMENDS SPLOST BUDGET
During their regular meeting,
the city council also considered
amending the SPLOST 3 budget,
as the city brought in about
$60,000 more than officials
thought.
Wilmarth said the city took
some of the excess revenues and
transferred it into areas where expenditures
exceeded the original
budget.
Roberts said he was amazed by
how expensive repairs are.
“That was our experience with
the streetscape project. When
they started digging, we found
things we didn’t know were
there,” he said.
FOR MORE ACTION TAKEN at the June 9
city council meeting, go to
www.ledgernews.com.
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