Albany City Commssion approves $318.79 million budget for Fiscal Year 2025

ALBANY – When the Albany City Commission sat down to approve a budget on Wednesday, it had six options on the table. Unfortunately for taxpayers, none of them avoided the likelihood of a property tax increase.

Commissioners ended up approving the $318.79 million spending package for the 2024-2025 fiscal year in a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Bob Langstaff and Demetrius Young voting in opposition.

The budget approved includes a 3.7% across-the-board pay raise for city employees, while other versions had a smaller pay raise of 3% or a tiered pay increase plan.

Prior to that vote, Young offered a substitute motion for the fifth option, which included the 3.7% pay increase as well as increasing the amount of weatherization assistance to utility customers from a total of $1 million of the approved version to $2.1 million in weatherization/utility assistance.

“(That) does a lot more to invest in the community and does more of what we talked about,” Young said. “The weatherization in (options 1-3) doesn’t do enough of what we need to do. In four years, we have not invested a lot of money in that department. Right now, since I’ve been in office, we’ve spent the better part of $1.2 billion … and things have not really changed in the city.”

While the city has used grant funding to assist struggling utility customers, it has not put local money into the effort, he said.

The 2024-2025 budget calls for spending about $2 million more than the estimated spending for the current budget year, which ends on Sunday. The fifth option called for spending about $319.56 million for the budget year beginning on Monday.

The least expensive option included a 3.5% pay increase for the lowest-paid city workers in grades 1-7, 2% for grades 8-11 and 1% for grades 12 and up. It would have totaled $318.2 million.

For property owners, the anticipated millage rate hike would increase the taxes owed on a $100,000 home by $40.76. For a $75,000 home, the increase would be $34.32.

“I just want my constituents to know this is the first property tax increase since what … 2013?” Commissioner Jon Howard said.

On Monday, the Dougherty County Commission approved a $98.94 spending plan for the 2024-2025 budget year. Commissioners do not plan to increase the tax millage rate to pay for the budget, but the package includes spending up to $6.42 million in reserve funds to balance the budget.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]