Grovetown’s city council members unanimously passed the city’s $22 million budget Monday night.
The largest expenses in each city department were for employee salaries. The police and dispatchers will earn $1.72 million, plus $86,222 in overtime. Grovetown firefighters will earn $1.17 million, plus $82,116 in overtime. Street and sanitation workers will earn $937,000 and $45,428 in overtime. Recreation department employees got a salary budget of $651,000 and $19, 523 in overtime. The city’s administrative staff will earn $453,000 and no overtime. The city court staff will be paid $108,000 and no overtime. Zoning department workers are earmarked $377,000 for salaries and no overtime. The maintenance shop workers will earn $60,000 and no overtime. And the mayor and city council members will be paid $35,000.
Health and life insurance to cover all Grovetown employees will cost taxpayers $1.125 million, and the city will pay $174,000 for retirement and $118,000 in workers compensation.
Paying for electricity for city buildings will cost taxpayers $400,800. Fueling the police patrol vehicles will cost $85,000, while the fire department is scheduled to burn about $16,000 worth of gas and diesel. Garbage disposal will cost taxpayers $1.16 million. The leisure and recreation department will spend about $65,000 in advertising fees. The city will spend about $600,000 improving the water and sewer infrastructure.
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“We will be able to make ends meet with no problem,” Grovetown Mayor Gary Jones said after the council’s vote. He said the citizens of Grovetown should “know that we are fiscally responsible, and we have some great people in position that are certified accountants and know what they are doing and we take that very seriously.”
The city collected about $900,000 more in revenue than expected over the last year, according to Grovetown Finance Director Bradley Smith.
The approved budget covers June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Also Monday night, the city council approved annexing about 33 acres of a 58-acre property in the 200 and 300 block of Old Berzalia Road for a new subdivision. The city council rezoned the entire 58 acres, so the developer of the Furguson Farms project can put in about 100 new houses, according to an explanation of the project given to council members by Grovetown’s Planning and Community Development Department Director Ronnie Kurtz.
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
