City Manager outlines Loganville budget, proposes CPI-tied utility rate increases

City Manager presented the proposed Loganville budget and warned that rising utility costs and a drop in tap-fee revenue have put pressure on the city's debt-service ratio.

The manager said the budget preserves the current millage rate and relies on voter-approved referendum funds (referred to in the presentation as 'splast') that may be spent only on capital improvements such as recreation, public safety, transportation and water and sewer. The manager proposed that beginning in fiscal 2027 the city adopt a policy to adjust utility rates every odd-numbered budget year by the Consumer Price Index with a 5% cap to help stabilize rate changes and protect bond covenants. "If you don't raise your rates, the bond will come in and raise them for you by ordinance," the City Manager said, arguing automatic CPI adjustments would reduce the risk of steep, ad hoc increases.

The City Manager described the capital-improvement plan required in the budget: a one-year plan showing roughly $4,194,000 in requested capital items (not all are funded) and a five-year list. Specific projects called out included the Chandler Hawk pump station (estimated at about $3 million) and a Logan Point pump-station upgrade that the manager said had limited existing capacity and was included because the city may need to pay for it if a developer does not provide the work.

The manager told council Moody's had questioned the city after its debt-service ratio fell below the ordinance threshold because of a loss of tap-fee revenue (about $1.5 million between FY24 and FY25) and infrastructure costs; healthy reserves (cited at roughly $16 million in the packet) kept the city from a downgrade. The manager framed the CPI-based rate proposal as a defensive measure to maintain compliance with the city's 2018 ordinance and preserve credit standing.

The proposal includes a variety of modest permit and fee adjustments: most permit increases were $10'$25, fire- and sanitation-related charges were adjusted upward in places (limb-pile pickup fees were raised to reflect hauling costs), and new user fees were added to recover engineering costs when outside capacity or stormwater studies are requested (for example, a $3,000 capacity study fee and a $500 sewer-capacity application fee). The manager said fines and fees collected by the court have declined (FY25 actual approximately $224,000) and that some intergovernmental revenues rose temporarily after the city sold library property into government revenue.

Next steps: the City Manager opened the public hearing and invited comments, noting the council will be asked to formally adopt the budget Monday, June 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the council chamber. No final vote was taken during the hearing.