Sandy Springs City Council on June 18 will consider approving the city’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget, which begins July 1. The city held its first hearing on the budget on June 4, and made no changes to the proposed budget. The Sandy Springs Reporter took the proposed $87.85 million general fund budget and divided it up into four categories: Government, City Operations, Courts and Public Safety, and Public Services.
These charts, derived from the entire $87.85 million budget, show how the city intends to spend taxpayer money. These numbers are subject to change on June 18.
$4.6 million
This category includes the budgets for the offices of the city’s top officials. The City Clerk’s budget is 212 percent larger this year because the Clerk will oversee the 2014 municipal elections.
$8 million
This category represents the departments and services that keep the city’s day-to-day operations moving along.
Police, fire and EMS services have traditionally been the city’s biggest expenditures. Sandy Springs Police Officers and Firefighters are full-time employees of the city. The city outsources most of its other services.
This category includes parks and permitting, the parts of city government residents deal with the most. The city’s biggest expenditure this year is $23.8 million for “other” under public services. Most of this money will be spent on the city’s downtown revitalization project near the intersection of Roswell Road and I-285.