Brookhaven City Council has adopted a $38 million 2025 operating budget. The millage rate is remaining unchanged at 2.74 but may be increased in the future, according to the city.
Mayor John Park told Rough Draft that the goal of the budget is to increase safety in Brookhaven. He listed the new real time crime center as one of the most important items.
“We asked the Brookhaven Police Department to come up with an innovative solution, and this is what they proposed. Police will in real time see live alerts, coordinate with live 911, deploy a drone or K-9 unit, and coordinate a response,” Park said.
The real time crime unit will be housed at the Public Safety Building, where BPD is located. The budget calls for adding a police captain, two crime scene analysts, and 2.5 part time officers for City Centre security to BPD.
The city is incentivizing police to live in the city of Brookhaven by increasing the monthly housing allowance from $1,000 to $1,200. A $1,000 monthly housing allowance is available for non-police officer staff living in the city.
“We want to stay competitive,” Park said. “The benefit of employees living in the city is that they remain active in our community.”
At the Nov. 17 City Council meeting, City Manager Christian Sigman said that the budget amounts to $647 per capita. The city has about 58,000 residents.
“For that, you get the one of the best police departments in the world with response times of less than four minutes. You get some great roads. You have wonderful parks,” said Sigman. “We get a great city government for $647 per capita. Think about how much you spend on your streaming services. Think how much you spend at the gym or Starbucks.”
Sigman called the per capita rate “a bargain.”
Other business items included the council approving a resolution to acquire four parcels for right-of-way, permanent, and temporary easements to complete the Ashford Dunwoody Road project in the amount of $101,170.
The FY24 Stormwater, Capital Improvement, and General Fund budgets were amended to cover $1.1 million in stormwater projects, $250,000 for ice skating rink expenses, and $140,000 for the Briarwood Road multi-use project.
Explore Brookhaven, the tourism arm of the city, presented its $1 million budget. Due to the closure of the Hampton Inn on Buford Highway and North Druid Hills Road, Explore Brookhaven’s budget will be at its lowest since 2022.
The city agreed to extend an InterGovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Dekalb County on the ambulance hub at 3292 Buford Highway. The agreement is scheduled to expire in June 2026.
City Council will next meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Heading into the holiday season, Brookhaven City Hall will be closed Nov. 28-29, Dec. 24-25, and Jan. 1.
