The Grovetown City Council approved the second reading of the budget ordinance for fiscal year 2023-2024.
Bradley Smith, director of finance, said all legal notices were met and council members and citizens had opportunities to voice their opinions on the budget.
The general fund projected revenue is $13.7 million, Smith said. The revenues include property taxes ($4.1 million), local option sales tax ($3.9 million), other taxes ($2.8 million), garbage fees ($1.7 million), LMIG ($140,000), fines and forfeitures ($421,000), licenses, fees and permits ($490,000), miscellaneous ($121,000).
The general fund projected revenue is $13.7 million, Smith previously said. The revenues include property taxes ($4.1 million), local option sales tax ($3.9 million), other taxes ($2.8 million), garbage fees ($1.7 million), LMIG ($140,000), fines and forfeitures ($421,000), licenses, fees and permits ($490,000), miscellaneous ($121,000).
There were no comments from council members or citizens on the budget during the meeting.
During the meeting council members also approved a mutual aid agreement and automatic aid agreement between the City of Grovetown and Columbia County. This is a five-year agreement.
“These agreements come up for renewal every couple of years,” said Fire Rescue Chief Wayne Kent. “There’s no change in the automatic aid or mutual aid agreements. This governs us as far as the request for assistance coming into the city and us returning into going outside the city and assisting other departments. This is with Columbia County; we did one a few months ago with Augusta-Richmond County.”
The intergovernmental agreement with Columbia County for Harlem-Grovetown Road and traffic light control was tabled due to some unanswered questions, said City Administrator Elaine Matthews.
“We did have several questions about this agreements because somehow two agreements grew out of one that we initially had our city attorney prepare,” Matthews said. “We have sent back several questions pertaining to those two they sent us, we have not yet received a response.”
During the meeting Councilwoman Dr. Deborah Fisher advised citizens to be vigilant of squatters in abandoned house and to report any suspicious activity.
The full meeting can be found on the City of Grovetown Facebook page.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
