Tallapoosa Springs council weighs five budget options that would raise property taxes and avoid staff cuts

Town Council members in Tallapoosa Springs spent the meeting focused on a set of five draft budgets that would raise the property tax rate in varying amounts to close a projected revenue gap.

City staff presented five budget scenarios for FY26–27 built from current revenues and expenditures and highlighted the trade-offs involved: an 8‑cent increase (raising the rate from .728 to .81), an 11‑cent option (to .84), and larger options that would lift the rate to .93 (20 cents) or .95 (22 cents). The packet included estimates of revenue trends (property-tax receipts of about $661,000, local sales tax trending below the budgeted $917,000 to roughly $881,000) and showed the general fund would be roughly $300,000 short of budgeted expenses without adjustments.

"If we're going to swim, if we're going to make some progress in [town], we have to have a tax increase," said Teresa, a council member who said she will not support any budget that eliminates a police‑officer position. "I will not be voting for any budget that proposes losing a police officer," she said, arguing that competitive pay and benefits are required to recruit and retain officers.

Staff outlined which capital projects correspond to each budget. Examples included a City Hall roof (~$35,000), a police vehicle (~$42,000), park improvements tied to an $89,150 grant (total project cost about $133,000), and a $11,450 Roan County grant for the library. Staff also proposed selling older town vehicles to offset some fleet purchases.

Council discussed procedure and timing for required public hearings. Legal advisors and staff explained that any proposed tax increase requires a public hearing with the ordinance or exact tax rate clearly posted; the ordinance selected for hearing must specify the tax amount so residents can comment on the precise measure. Council members identified two June meetings (June 4 and June 18) as planning dates and staff said they would post notices and the packet materials in the newspaper and on the town website.

Staff raised the option of adopting a continuing resolution (CR) if more time was needed to select and post a budget for public hearing; a CR would preserve spending authority past July 1 while the council finalizes the budget. A council member volunteered to draft the required resolution paperwork for whichever budget is chosen for the public hearing.

No final budget vote was recorded in the meeting; the council set follow‑up work (a water‑budget workshop and public‑hearing notices) and signaled that a formal vote would come after those steps.

What happens next: staff will distribute detailed capital lists and the two wage‑schedule spreadsheets by email, the council will hold a water workshop (tentatively May 26 at 6:30 p.m.), and the council will select a budget option to post for a public hearing at a future meeting.