Smyrna budget hearings coming up

Smyrna City Hall will be the site of two public hearings on May 21 and 23 about the city’s proposed budget of nearly $91.2 million with no millage rate increase. Contributed

Smyrna City Hall will be the site of two public hearings on May 21 and 23 about the city’s proposed budget of nearly $91.2 million with no millage rate increase. Contributed

Smyrna officials will hold two public budget hearings this month.

They will be:

  • 7 p.m. May 21 during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting in the Council Chambers, Smyrna City Hall, 2800 King St. SE, Smyrna.
  • Noon-1 p.m. May 23, also in the Council Chambers, Smyrna City Hall.

To be in effect July 1 through June 30, 2019, the nearly $91.2 million budget will be adopted by Mayor Max Bacon and the City Council at 7 p.m. June 18 in the Council Chambers.

For the 13th consecutive year, the millage rate will remain at 8.99 mills.

Among the budget changes are:

  • 11 new full-time positions.
  • new network monitoring software for cybersecurity.
  • longevity pay eligibility for all city employees.
  • signing bonuses and five-year retention bonuses for police officers.
  • increased salaries for city employees.
  • a $100,000 transit feasibility study with 80 percent to be paid by the federal government.

Rating agency Standard and Poor’s has given Smyrna its highest rating of AAA with a stable outlook, meaning “access to low-interest rates when new debt is issued,” said Smyrna City Administrator Tammi Saddler Jones and Finance Director Kristin Robinson in a memo to Bacon and the City Council.

Hard copies of the proposed budget are available for review in the City Clerk’s office at City Hall and at the Circulation desk in the Smyrna Public Library, 100 Village Green Circle.

An electronic copy of the 382-page document is available for download at SmyrnaCity.com/home/ShowDocument?id=10590.

Information: Budget Officer Jered Sigmon at 678-631-5408 or jsigmon@SmyrnaGa.gov.