Tucker, GA — Tucker City Council approved the FY23 budget on June 13, one of many agenda items passed during a five-hour meeting that packed City Hall.

Finance Director Beverly Ragland presented the FY23 budget, estimating the total budget at $41 million in revenue and $44 million in expenditures.

The general fund projects $17.6 million in revenue and expenditures of $20.5 million. The general fund is made from franchise fees, business and occupational taxes, insurance premium taxes, millage from DeKalb County, title ad valorem and other revenue.

The city expects to receive $6 million of SPLOST funds. Ragland did not specify the amount of American Rescue Plan and other funds to make up the remainder of the budget.

Notable changes were made to the City Manager, Communications, Human Resources, Parks and Recreation department budgets due to increased hiring.

The budget lists park projects including $50,000 for a disc golf course at Lord Park in Smoke Rise, and $775,000 for Fitzgerald Field, the property acquired by the city from Tucker Football League.

Road improvement projects in the budget are $1.7 million for Brockett Road traffic-calming, $2.2 million for Juliette Road complete streets, $1 million of trail projects and $300,000 to study north/south connectivity.

The budget also allots $100,000 for a Tucker Housing Study. Council member Alexis Weaver told Tucker Observer she wants to build on the DeKalb County Comprehensive Housing Needs Study. She said residents can expect more information about a Tucker study in the future.

Based on the latest DeKalb tax digest, Tucker is proposing to rollback millage rates. If city council approves, the millage rate will drop to .848 from .900.

Property taxes were initially budgeted at $2 million before receiving the tax digest. Using the rollback rate to avoid a property tax increase will meet revenue projections for the FY23 budget, a memo stated.

“We could have kept the millage rate at .9 and made more money, but we pushed it back,” said City Council member Anne Lerner.

A public hearing on the millage rate is scheduled for June 27 at 6:45 p.m.

In other news:

City Council approved a contract with CPA firm Mauldin and Jenkins to audit the city’s finances. The contract is not to exceed $40,000. An audit is to begin in late July.

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