Leesburg City Council discusses proposed $4.3 million FY 2017 budget

LEESBURG — The Leesburg City Council conducted a lengthy discussion Tuesday night of the city’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget, which is projected to come in at $4,283,948.

The City Council, if it votes to approve the proposed budget at a planned special called meeting June 21, will have $2,333,174 to work with in its general fund, a $189,506 decrease from the city’s current $2,522,681 budget.

“I think it’s a good budget, one that reflects a true picture of where funds are needed and where we will spend them,” City Manager Bob Alexander said Wednesday morning. “I like the fact that our Finance/Human Resources Director Jo Brophy gave the council a zero-based budget.”

Brophy, who previously worked as the city of Albany’s Finance director, said the best way to create a clear picture of city finances was to “start from scratch.”

“When you’re looking for a clear, more accurate picture of your finances, you have to basically start from scratch,” Brophy said. “The idea was to give the City Council an accurate accounting of their true costs, where the city’s expenses are compared to revenue.

“I think our proposed budget is a good measuring stick of how the city will use taxpayer money to conduct business.”

The largest portion of the spending plan ($769,390) is budgeted for Public Safety. That, Alexander said, primarily means the city’s police department.

“That’s where the biggest piece of our pie will go, but that’s important because we believe in having a strong police force,” the city manager said.

Another large chunk of the proposed budget ($231,744) is earmarked for “contingency,” a line item that Alexander said would allow the city flexibility in allocating funds during the fiscal year.

“There were some requests (from department heads) that we weren’t able to include in the budget, but we’re looking at alternate ways to meet those requests,” the city manager said. “That may be an area where we’re able to use part of the contingency portion of the budget.”

That line item was only $40,937 last year.

“Contingency usually averages around 3 to 5 percent of a budget,” Brophy said.

The City Council will hold a public hearing/work session on the budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Members of the public will have an opportunity to ask specific questions about the spending plan during that meeting, and the council will continue its discussion. If the process moves forward as projected, the council will vote on whether to approve the budget at a called meeting at 6 p.m. June 21. Both meetings will be at Leesburg City Hall.

Also at Tuesday’s council meeting, Alexander told the board the city had gotten a “good bid” on the long-delayed Leesburg Train Depot renovation project. Since funding from that project is coming from federal and state sources, the state Department of Transportation will have to sign off on apparent bid winner, Fourth Street Design of Warwick.

“We’re excited to recommend this bid, but it will probably take around 30 days for state DOT approval,” Alexander said. “They have to make sure the contractor meets their qualifications. We’re looking to do the project in two phases, the first being to shore up the sides and floors of the building.

“This project has been in the works since 2002, so obviously we’re excited to see positive movement. The renovation is going to have a big impact on downtown Leesburg.”

The City Council also signed off on a $979,169 GEFA (Georgia Environmental Finance Authority) loan that includes forgiveness of $154,044 in principle funding and learned about a potential $500,000 Community Development Block Grant that would be used to raise the water tank near Lee County High School.

“Our match for that grant, if we get it, would be $50,000,” Alexander said. “Raising the water tank would improve the water pressure in the city to near EPD standards.”