Changes slated for Hoschton budget
BY KERRI TESTEMENT AND BRANDON REED
Hoschton is slated to make its first budget amendment of the year — a step that could be taken again before the end of 2008.
The city council approved the 2008 budget in December 2007, but now says some minor tweaks are needed. Hoschton amends its budget when 10 percent of a city department’s budget is changed.
“We’re not increasing the budget or decreasing the budget,” said council member Tom Walden during a fiscal resources meeting last week. “We’re just moving monies around in it.”
Walden said the changes reflect the fact that when revenue is increased or decreased, the same measure must be made to expenses to produce a balanced budget.
Some of the changes include $77,281 in reserves and carryover from the 2007 general fund budget. Walden said that figure wasn’t available when the city council started working on the 2008 budget in the fall of 2007.
Hoschton is also reducing its 2007 carryover of sales tax funds for the water and sewer budget from the budgeted $155,000 to $107,000.
Meanwhile, 2007 sales tax fund carryover for recreation was increased from $2,000 to $5,200.
The city is also reassigning the court clerk’s salary and expenses from the police department to general government — a change of more than $30,000.
Additional changes include moving $20,000 from operations to administration in the water and sewer budget. As the city is using more well water, it is purchasing less water from the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority, while still having legal expenses, Walden explained.
The Hoschton City Council adopted its 2008 general fund budget for $771,110, which excludes $173,927 in sales tax revenue.
The proposed budget changes would increase the general fund budget to $852,491 and sales tax revenue to $177,127.
The city’s water and sewer fund budget was approved for $969,528; the changes would increase that figure to $1.08 million.
However, sales tax revenue for the water and sewer fund would slide from the budgeted $342,738 to $294,738.
The city council is expected to discuss the changes during its work session on Thursday, May 1, at 7 p.m., and during a regular council meeting on Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m.
Walden said a public hearing on the proposed budget changes is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, at 1 p.m.
