{"id":4686,"date":"2013-07-12T10:08:43","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T14:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=4686"},"modified":"2013-07-12T10:15:17","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T14:15:17","slug":"valdosta-budget-with-goals-and-accomplishments-for-each-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/07\/valdosta-budget-with-goals-and-accomplishments-for-each-department.html","title":{"rendered":"Valdosta budget with goals and accomplishments for each department"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nIt’s too bad nobody came to Valdosta’s two public budget hearings,\r\nbecause the city prepared\r\n183 slides with details for each\r\ndepartment, including goals and accomplishments.\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nOn\r\n\r\nthe LAKE website is that presentation<\/a> sent on request by City Clerk Teresa Bolden,\r\nand\r\nconverted to HTML by LAKE.\r\nPlus the actual budget.\r\nNo open records requests were required.\r\nOh, and Valdosta runs garbage collection on a balanced budget\r\nwithout any exclusive franchises.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nValdosta News PR 20 June 2013,\r\n\r\nCity Delivers a Balanced Budget:\r\nNo property tax increase proposed for citizens<\/a>,\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThe Valdosta City Council approved the fiscal year 2014 budget for\r\nthe City of Valdosta at the June 20 City Council meeting, after\r\nhaving the opportunity to hear the proposed budget at the hearings\r\non June 11 and 12. City staff presented the council with a balanced\r\nbudget, as required by the City Charter, possibly one of the most\r\nchallenging and difficult budgets prepared in years.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nCity leaders decreased the overall city budget from $86.2 million to\r\n$77.3 million, a result of the completion of Special Purpose Local\r\nOption Sales Tax (SPLOST VI) capital improvement projects and the\r\nfact that this funding source will end in December 2013. The 2014\r\nfiscal budget represents a city operating in a fiscally responsible\r\nmanner with no general obligation debt, something City Manager Larry\r\nHanson credits to the outstanding work of the city department heads,\r\nfinance director, budget staff and the entire city workforce.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThe budget, approved by the City Council, is balanced and includes\r\nno proposed tax increases. The City of Valdosta’s millage rate of\r\n4.106 continues to be among the lowest in state. In fact,\r\nValdosta—Georgia’s 14th largest city—has the lowest\r\ncumulative taxes of the 15 largest cities in Georgia. The last\r\nmillage rate increase was in 1992 when the city’s millage was raised\r\nto 6.25 mills.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“Our goal in preparing this budget was to make cuts that did\r\nnot compromise the quality of our services, making sure that we\r\nprovide our citizens with the same level of services but in a more\r\nefficient way and with modest revenues,” said Hanson.\r\n“We are particularly proud that, during these difficult times,\r\nour city has not had a property tax increase in 20 years.\r\nFurthermore, we’ve decreased the millage rate in 11 out of 19\r\nyears—something that is unheard of for a city our size in\r\nGeorgia.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nHanson noted that this year’s budget presented a unique set of\r\ncircumstances and challenges that include the following:\r\n<\/p>\r\n