It’s been a long few months for the Demorest City Council in getting its budget in place for 2022. Tonight, the city council will finally vote on their budget for next year and on the millage rate rollback, which they are set to unanimously approve.
The council spent several months in limbo waiting for a budget, starting discussions surrounding it in late July and the council not seeing a budget draft until mid-October.
View the proposed 2022 budget here
After seeing and discussing the budget with the City Accountant Alan Burton at their Oct. 19 budget meeting, the council felt comfortable with a millage rate rollback, something that Demorest Mayor Rick Austin had asked them to vote on before the council had seen the budget.
Austin told the council at their Oct. 5 meeting that he had discussed the budget with the city accountant, and that the accountant had relayed to him that the city was in a financial position where a millage rollback was possible, he asked them to vote on a rollback. The council was uncomfortable doing so at the time and wanted to see the budget themselves before making a decision. Once they had, they were ready to roll the millage rate back.
“We’re looking at the numbers,” Councilman Shawn Allen said at the Oct. 19 meeting. “It’s confirmation of a healthy budget moving forward.”
The council voted unanimously to roll back the millage rate to 5.16 mills on the 19 and will make their final vote on the millage, as well as their approval of their budget, tomorrow.
For those who wish to speak on the millage rate rollback or the proposed 2022 budget, the city will have a public hearing preceding the vote. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26 in the Demorest Municipal Courtroom, located at 125 Ivy St.
This article has been updated.
