Smyrna holds public hearing on FY 2026 budget that restores capital spending after ARPA drawdown

Smyrna — City staff presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at the Smyrna Mayor and Council meeting Monday, describing a balanced general fund, planned capital projects and personnel recommendations and holding the required public hearing.

Landon (last name not stated), finance staff, told council the FY 2026 general fund is balanced at $69,900,600. He said special revenue funds are balanced overall and noted the hotel-motel fund will use about $509,000 of reserves to balance that fund. "As is required by law, our general fund is balanced this year at $69,900,600," the presenter said.

Staff highlighted that the budget reflects a partial return to historical capital funding practices because most general fund capital projects in recent years were paid from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that are no longer available. That change produces an approximately $1.04 million increase in general fund capital project budgeting compared with the prior year. The proposed general fund shows a net increase of about $2.4 million from the FY 2025 revised budget, driven largely by insurance, retirement and vehicle replacement costs.

Key items called out in the presentation include:

- A planned transfer of approximately $178,000 to water/sewer reserves to smooth future capital costs. - Insurance and retirement expenditures: staff proposed a $341,000 increase for pension (Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System) contributions, a reduction in overall health insurance budgeting to about $6.09 million and a $150,000 increase in non-health insurance lines (liability, cyber, claims). - A contingent pool totaling about $901,000 for employee merit and cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) contingent on later mayor-and-council approval, plus unallocated contingency to balance the budget. - Two recommended new full-time positions: an HR and risk management specialist and a parts/maintenance technician; five other requested positions were not recommended this year. - Major capital and equipment items: a $1.7 million budgeted fire truck and several sanitation trucks within the vehicle-replacement plan (24 vehicles budgeted citywide at about $3.57 million total). - Continued work on federally required lead and copper inventory for the water system and ongoing stormwater and drainage projects; staff budgeted $200,000 for a stormwater master plan and $200,000 for a comprehensive plan update required every 10 years.

Landon said the proposed water-sewer budget accounts for increases passed through from Cobb-Marietta Water Authority and that those wholesale cost increases are reflected in the utility's revenue and expense projections. He also said the hotel-motel tax receipts have largely recovered since the COVID downturn and that a portion of hotel-motel revenue is paid to the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority under a standing agreement.

The FY 2026 budget includes a number of fee adjustments across departments: Community Development added a $500 fee for temporary certificates of occupancy; Fire proposed modest plan-review and permit fees; Parks and Recreation updated many fees following a cost-of-service study; the stormwater monthly utility fee was raised by approximately $0.38 per month.

The council opened the required public hearing; no members of the public spoke. City staff noted the budget was advertised as required and that a formal adoption vote is scheduled for a special-called meeting on June 2.

Council members praised staff for the work on the budget. The proposed budget document is posted on the city's website under finance, annual budget and audit reports.