At the last Council meeting, the Council voted unanimously to censure one of our own Council Members for failing to comply with an Open Records Act request. You can read more about the Open Records Act on the Secretary of State's website here: GA Open Records Act
Also at the meeting on June 16, the City Council passed the Fiscal Year 2012 ("FY 12") budget by a vote of 3-2 with myself and Councilman Kris Yardley voting against it. My primary reason for voting against the FY 12 budget involves the use of the City's reserve account to pay for portions of the general fund.
In the FY 12 budget, just over $126,000 is being funded from the City's reserve accounts. My understanding of the reserve fund is it's sort of like a rainy day account and because government revenues like property taxes, sales taxes, license fees, etc. all come in at different times, the reserve account helps cover payroll and other expenses when there is a dip in the operating account. By law, the City is required to hold a certain amount of funds in reserve. Flowery Branch complies with this mandate but also maintains a portion in the reserve in excess of what's required under the law. At any rate, by pulling $126,000 from the reserve account to fund the FY 12 budget, the City is paying for current expenses out of a type of savings account and not from the revenue that is actually taken in. It is kind of like taking money out of your savings every month to make your car payment. If you don't have the money for your car payment in your checking account, you are probably driving a car you can't afford.
With both property tax and sales tax revenues coming under previous projections and everyday expenses in labor, insurance, fuel, energy, etc., going up, I worry about a time when our reserve balance may not be as large as it is today. It could make any cuts more difficult to make then similar to what we are seeing in our County budget process this year. My opposition to the FY 12 budget was in the belief that if we were using reserve funds to bring the general fund in balance, we should at least take the opportunity to use those funds to cut expenses in other areas so that we can reduce some of the other taxes and fees the City collects.
As always, I welcome your thoughts, your questions and your concerns. Call me anytime! My contact information can be found on my website.
Amanda
