Even without knowing exactly how sales tax money will be split among cities and counties, Braselton is estimating that its share will increase dramatically in some areas in 2013.
The Braselton Town Council is set to approve a $3.2 million general fund budget that anticipates big jumps in its share of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). A date to adopt the budget hasn’t been set.
Braselton budget foresees big jump in sales tax revenue
Saturday, June 16. 2012
LOST is handled by each county and their cities differently, based on a distribution formula established by those governments. LOST negotiations are held every 10 years — after officials get the latest Census figures. The negotiations between the counties and their cities must start by July 1.
Braselton spans Jackson, Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties. Barrow County has started to talk about its proposed LOST distribution and Jackson County officials will meet next week. Hall County hasn’t begun its negotiations. Gwinnett County doesn’t have a LOST.
Most LOST distribution formulas are based on population — with larger cities and counties receiving a bigger piece of the sales tax revenue pie. State law also requires that LOST distributions consider other factors, such as public services provided in an area.
LOST is different than SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax).
While LOST is determined by counties and their cities for a 10-year collection period, SPLOST is approved by voters for specific projects and funds are typically collected for four to six years.
In planning for the 2013 fiscal year budget, town manager Jennifer Dees said she based her projected LOST revenues for Braselton on the current formulas used for Jackson, Barrow and Gwinnett counties. Those formulas are based on the 2000 Census.
After January 1, 2013, the budget includes estimated LOST revenue for those counties — based on population.
Braselton grew from 1,200 residents during the 2000 Census to more than 7,500 people during the 2010 Census spread across its four counties.
“There’s a default in the law that says if you’re not happy with the (LOST) distribution, then you can declare yourself as an absentee city and at the minimum what you get is your population share,” Dees said.
For the 2013 general fund budget, Braselton’s share of sales tax revenue in Hall County would jump from just $2,500 in the current budget to an estimated $125,000 next fiscal year.
Braselton’s share of Hall County’s total population rose from 0.86 percent in 2000 to 0.94 percent in 2010, according to the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG).
Hall County’s total LOST revenue collection is expected to reach $40 million annually. Even with Braselton’s standing as the fifth largest city in Hall County, its population-based share of that revenue would be $376,200 a year. The town’s proposed budget only reflects about half of that amount, since the latest LOST collection won’t start until after Jan. 1, 2013.
For its Jackson County share, Braselton estimates that its sales tax revenue will increase from $145,000 to $200,000. The town’s population accounted for 1.45 percent of all Jackson County residents in 2000 and 2.91 percent in 2010.
Braselton’s share of Barrow County sales tax revenue would increase from $35,000 to an estimated $80,000 next fiscal year. The town’s population accounted for 2.62 percent of all Barrow County residents in 2000 and 1.56 percent in 2010, according to ACCG.
“This is what I think is the worst case (scenario),” Dees told the town council during public hearing on the proposed budget on Thursday.
Overall, Braselton’s 2013 fiscal year general fund budget is a 10 percent increase from the current budget of $2.9 million. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2013.
Braselton doesn’t have a property tax and isn’t slated to initiate one for its 2013 budget. The town also won’t have employee furlough days, but employees will get a three percent cost-of-living increase. Those employees who hit a three-year mark in their current positions will also receive a three-percent “step” pay increase.
Dees said after the meeting that two people requested copies of the proposed budget. No one submitted comments on the document and other than reporters, no one from the public attended Thursday’s hearing on the budget.
The police department’s budget is going up 10 percent because, in part, Braselton plans to hire a new officer after January 2013. The town council decided in 2011 to hire two additional officers over two fiscal years. The first was hired in January 2012.
Braselton’s police department will increase its budget from $1.05 million this fiscal year to $1.13 million next fiscal year.
Braselton’s general fund budget also includes its first capital fund — to designate several major downtown projects. That budget totals $2.5 million with most of its revenue coming from state grants, followed by downtown bond proceeds and Jackson County sales tax money.
The capital projects include a streetscape project along Ga. Hwy. 53 from the Hoschton city limits to the old intersection of Ga. Hwy. 53 and Ga. Hwy. 124. They further include a town green in downtown Braselton and renovation of the town-owned Braselton Brothers Store.
Braselton further plans to spend $30,000 installing a new swing set in its downtown park and $15,000 on consultants to offer suggested uses of the town’s 71-acre property on Ga. Hwy. 124 along the Mulberry River. The land was donated to the town a number of years ago and plans to make it a park with Barrow County have fallen through. The town council decided in February to consider the “best use” of the 71-acre property.
As for economic development, the proposed 2013 budget comes with $35,000 earmarked for consultants to launch a new town website that can be easily viewed on cell phones and smart phones.
The town council discussed on Thursday other possibilities for the money, such as installing a large screen in its meeting room for public presentations or offering Wi-Fi in its buildings. The council opted to keep the money in the budget and decide on its use later.
Braselton also wants to spend $15,000 on possibly offering emergency preparedness technology, such as weather alerts for residents in the event that a tornado is spotted in the area.
The town doesn’t have its own emergency dispatchers or fire department to serve its residents in all of its counties. Likewise, each of those counties handles emergency alerts to the public differently, if at all.
Braselton officials want to offer a consolidated emergency alert system for its residents, but town officials don’t know how such a proposal would operate.
Water and Sewer Budget
Braselton’s proposed water and sewer budget is slated to rise seven percent — from $5.8 million this fiscal year to $6.2 million next fiscal year. The town estimated that it will have $889,500 in its reserve account for that fund.
The budget calls for a five percent increase in water and sewer rates, as has been done several times by Braselton in recent years.
The rate changes are based on a study and fee schedule that the Braselton Town Council adopted about eight years ago to fund infrastructure improvements. In 2006, rates jumped by 10 percent since it had been several years from the previous hike, according to Dees.
A five percent rate increase was then adopted in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. There was no rate increase in 2010 because of the poor economy.
Even with the rate increase, the proposed 2013 budget calls for water charges to remain the same as the current fiscal year at $3 million. Likewise, sewer charges will drop from $1.7 million to $1.4 million. Dees said people have been conserving more water and sewer.
A jump from $750,000 to $1.5 million in tap fees for new connections to Braselton’s system includes the planned payment by Northeast Georgia Health System for its hospital on Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347).
Debt payments in the water and sewer fund are down slightly — from $2.2 million to $2.1 million — because the town refinanced some of its loans, according to Dees.
Visitors Bureau Authority
The Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority may get more hotel/motel tax than initially believed in the early budget process — thanks to a large upswing in room bookings at Chateau Elan.
Town manager Dees, —who also serves as chairperson of the visitors bureau authority — explained that when she first started the group’s proposed 2013 fiscal year budget two months ago, hotel/motel tax collections were down.
But, that figure quickly rose for the early months of 2012, as Chateau Elan — the town’s largest hotel — had more hotel room bookings, she said during a public hearing on the budget last week.
For the latest figures available, Braselton had collected 77 percent of its anticipated hotel/motel tax for the 2012 fiscal year, which ends on June 30. That doesn’t include the last two months of the fiscal year, according to Dees.
Braselton collects a total of five percent in hotel/motel taxes. Three percent of that money goes in the town’s general fund budget, while the remaining two percent is given to the visitors bureau authority to promote tourism.
The visitors bureau authority budgeted $290,000 in its share of hotel/motel taxes for the 2012 fiscal year, but dropped that figure to $260,000 for the proposed 2013 fiscal year because of slumping revenue.
Overall, the visitors bureau authority is proposing a 2013 fiscal year budget of $270,300 — compared to $337,500 for the current fiscal year.
The group is set to adopt its proposed 2013 fiscal year budget during a called meeting on Wednesday, June 20, at 4 p.m. The visitors bureau authority typically meets twice a year to hold a public hearing on its proposed budget and to later approve the document.
The Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority mainly spends its money on public relations and special events. Next fiscal year, that figure will fall from $150,000 to $130,000.
Dees said that’s because the group has received sponsors for its popular summer movies in the park. In exchange for paying for the movies, sponsors will be allowed to show a PowerPoint presentation on the screen. The family-friendly movies are shown for free for guests.
Marketing costs for the authority will be slightly up — from $89,300 to $94,000 next fiscal year. Braselton shares some marketing costs with Chateau Elan to promote tourism in the town. Chateau Elan, in turn, is the largest contributor to hotel/motel taxes in Braselton.
The visitors bureau authority plans to spend less money on historic repairs and maintenance of town-owned buildings. Last fiscal year, it budgeted $25,000 for such costs, but lowered that figure to $15,000 for the next fiscal year.
Dees said the town will renovate the exterior of an old barn that has become more visible since the realignment of Davis Street (old Ga. Hwy. 124) in downtown Braselton. The barn is located next to a gardening business and across the street from the Braselton Library.
Braselton wants to use that barn for storage and no interior renovations are planned, Dees said. The building is included in the town’s National Register of Historic Places district.
In other news, Dees said the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra is interested in offering some kind of special event in downtown Braselton. That proposal is being considered, she added.
Downtown Development Authority
The Braselton Downtown Development Authority (DDA) held a public hearing on its proposed budget on Thursday, June 14.
The DDA is proposing that its budget jump from $16,030 during the 2012 fiscal year to $65,012 next fiscal year. The authority plans to hire its first employee, a downtown director, during the 2013 fiscal year.
Braselton spans Jackson, Barrow, Gwinnett and Hall counties. Barrow County has started to talk about its proposed LOST distribution and Jackson County officials will meet next week. Hall County hasn’t begun its negotiations. Gwinnett County doesn’t have a LOST.
Most LOST distribution formulas are based on population — with larger cities and counties receiving a bigger piece of the sales tax revenue pie. State law also requires that LOST distributions consider other factors, such as public services provided in an area.
LOST is different than SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax).
While LOST is determined by counties and their cities for a 10-year collection period, SPLOST is approved by voters for specific projects and funds are typically collected for four to six years.
In planning for the 2013 fiscal year budget, town manager Jennifer Dees said she based her projected LOST revenues for Braselton on the current formulas used for Jackson, Barrow and Gwinnett counties. Those formulas are based on the 2000 Census.
After January 1, 2013, the budget includes estimated LOST revenue for those counties — based on population.
Braselton grew from 1,200 residents during the 2000 Census to more than 7,500 people during the 2010 Census spread across its four counties.
“There’s a default in the law that says if you’re not happy with the (LOST) distribution, then you can declare yourself as an absentee city and at the minimum what you get is your population share,” Dees said.
For the 2013 general fund budget, Braselton’s share of sales tax revenue in Hall County would jump from just $2,500 in the current budget to an estimated $125,000 next fiscal year.
Braselton’s share of Hall County’s total population rose from 0.86 percent in 2000 to 0.94 percent in 2010, according to the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG).
Hall County’s total LOST revenue collection is expected to reach $40 million annually. Even with Braselton’s standing as the fifth largest city in Hall County, its population-based share of that revenue would be $376,200 a year. The town’s proposed budget only reflects about half of that amount, since the latest LOST collection won’t start until after Jan. 1, 2013.
For its Jackson County share, Braselton estimates that its sales tax revenue will increase from $145,000 to $200,000. The town’s population accounted for 1.45 percent of all Jackson County residents in 2000 and 2.91 percent in 2010.
Braselton’s share of Barrow County sales tax revenue would increase from $35,000 to an estimated $80,000 next fiscal year. The town’s population accounted for 2.62 percent of all Barrow County residents in 2000 and 1.56 percent in 2010, according to ACCG.
“This is what I think is the worst case (scenario),” Dees told the town council during public hearing on the proposed budget on Thursday.
Overall, Braselton’s 2013 fiscal year general fund budget is a 10 percent increase from the current budget of $2.9 million. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2013.
Braselton doesn’t have a property tax and isn’t slated to initiate one for its 2013 budget. The town also won’t have employee furlough days, but employees will get a three percent cost-of-living increase. Those employees who hit a three-year mark in their current positions will also receive a three-percent “step” pay increase.
Dees said after the meeting that two people requested copies of the proposed budget. No one submitted comments on the document and other than reporters, no one from the public attended Thursday’s hearing on the budget.
The police department’s budget is going up 10 percent because, in part, Braselton plans to hire a new officer after January 2013. The town council decided in 2011 to hire two additional officers over two fiscal years. The first was hired in January 2012.
Braselton’s police department will increase its budget from $1.05 million this fiscal year to $1.13 million next fiscal year.
Braselton’s general fund budget also includes its first capital fund — to designate several major downtown projects. That budget totals $2.5 million with most of its revenue coming from state grants, followed by downtown bond proceeds and Jackson County sales tax money.
The capital projects include a streetscape project along Ga. Hwy. 53 from the Hoschton city limits to the old intersection of Ga. Hwy. 53 and Ga. Hwy. 124. They further include a town green in downtown Braselton and renovation of the town-owned Braselton Brothers Store.
Braselton further plans to spend $30,000 installing a new swing set in its downtown park and $15,000 on consultants to offer suggested uses of the town’s 71-acre property on Ga. Hwy. 124 along the Mulberry River. The land was donated to the town a number of years ago and plans to make it a park with Barrow County have fallen through. The town council decided in February to consider the “best use” of the 71-acre property.
As for economic development, the proposed 2013 budget comes with $35,000 earmarked for consultants to launch a new town website that can be easily viewed on cell phones and smart phones.
The town council discussed on Thursday other possibilities for the money, such as installing a large screen in its meeting room for public presentations or offering Wi-Fi in its buildings. The council opted to keep the money in the budget and decide on its use later.
Braselton also wants to spend $15,000 on possibly offering emergency preparedness technology, such as weather alerts for residents in the event that a tornado is spotted in the area.
The town doesn’t have its own emergency dispatchers or fire department to serve its residents in all of its counties. Likewise, each of those counties handles emergency alerts to the public differently, if at all.
Braselton officials want to offer a consolidated emergency alert system for its residents, but town officials don’t know how such a proposal would operate.
Water and Sewer Budget
Braselton’s proposed water and sewer budget is slated to rise seven percent — from $5.8 million this fiscal year to $6.2 million next fiscal year. The town estimated that it will have $889,500 in its reserve account for that fund.
The budget calls for a five percent increase in water and sewer rates, as has been done several times by Braselton in recent years.
The rate changes are based on a study and fee schedule that the Braselton Town Council adopted about eight years ago to fund infrastructure improvements. In 2006, rates jumped by 10 percent since it had been several years from the previous hike, according to Dees.
A five percent rate increase was then adopted in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. There was no rate increase in 2010 because of the poor economy.
Even with the rate increase, the proposed 2013 budget calls for water charges to remain the same as the current fiscal year at $3 million. Likewise, sewer charges will drop from $1.7 million to $1.4 million. Dees said people have been conserving more water and sewer.
A jump from $750,000 to $1.5 million in tap fees for new connections to Braselton’s system includes the planned payment by Northeast Georgia Health System for its hospital on Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy. 347).
Debt payments in the water and sewer fund are down slightly — from $2.2 million to $2.1 million — because the town refinanced some of its loans, according to Dees.
Visitors Bureau Authority
The Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority may get more hotel/motel tax than initially believed in the early budget process — thanks to a large upswing in room bookings at Chateau Elan.
Town manager Dees, —who also serves as chairperson of the visitors bureau authority — explained that when she first started the group’s proposed 2013 fiscal year budget two months ago, hotel/motel tax collections were down.
But, that figure quickly rose for the early months of 2012, as Chateau Elan — the town’s largest hotel — had more hotel room bookings, she said during a public hearing on the budget last week.
For the latest figures available, Braselton had collected 77 percent of its anticipated hotel/motel tax for the 2012 fiscal year, which ends on June 30. That doesn’t include the last two months of the fiscal year, according to Dees.
Braselton collects a total of five percent in hotel/motel taxes. Three percent of that money goes in the town’s general fund budget, while the remaining two percent is given to the visitors bureau authority to promote tourism.
The visitors bureau authority budgeted $290,000 in its share of hotel/motel taxes for the 2012 fiscal year, but dropped that figure to $260,000 for the proposed 2013 fiscal year because of slumping revenue.
Overall, the visitors bureau authority is proposing a 2013 fiscal year budget of $270,300 — compared to $337,500 for the current fiscal year.
The group is set to adopt its proposed 2013 fiscal year budget during a called meeting on Wednesday, June 20, at 4 p.m. The visitors bureau authority typically meets twice a year to hold a public hearing on its proposed budget and to later approve the document.
The Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority mainly spends its money on public relations and special events. Next fiscal year, that figure will fall from $150,000 to $130,000.
Dees said that’s because the group has received sponsors for its popular summer movies in the park. In exchange for paying for the movies, sponsors will be allowed to show a PowerPoint presentation on the screen. The family-friendly movies are shown for free for guests.
Marketing costs for the authority will be slightly up — from $89,300 to $94,000 next fiscal year. Braselton shares some marketing costs with Chateau Elan to promote tourism in the town. Chateau Elan, in turn, is the largest contributor to hotel/motel taxes in Braselton.
The visitors bureau authority plans to spend less money on historic repairs and maintenance of town-owned buildings. Last fiscal year, it budgeted $25,000 for such costs, but lowered that figure to $15,000 for the next fiscal year.
Dees said the town will renovate the exterior of an old barn that has become more visible since the realignment of Davis Street (old Ga. Hwy. 124) in downtown Braselton. The barn is located next to a gardening business and across the street from the Braselton Library.
Braselton wants to use that barn for storage and no interior renovations are planned, Dees said. The building is included in the town’s National Register of Historic Places district.
In other news, Dees said the Gwinnett Symphony Orchestra is interested in offering some kind of special event in downtown Braselton. That proposal is being considered, she added.
Downtown Development Authority
The Braselton Downtown Development Authority (DDA) held a public hearing on its proposed budget on Thursday, June 14.
The DDA is proposing that its budget jump from $16,030 during the 2012 fiscal year to $65,012 next fiscal year. The authority plans to hire its first employee, a downtown director, during the 2013 fiscal year.
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#1
Censorship, but it is your ballpark (sold to Braselton)
on
06/18/12 at 08:39 AM
[Reply]
BARROW JOURNAL COMMENT on This Article, which had proper language, but disagreed with the Town and the Political Sell-out stance that the Journal takes with the Town of Braselton was never posted.