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Doraville staff outlines $70M FY2026 proposal as residents press on downtown planning and traffic signals
Summary
City staff presented a $70 million FY2026 budget driven by capital funds for the city center and roughly $5 million in grants; during the public hearing residents raised concerns about downtown development planning, consultant spending and the lack of a traffic signal at Central/Chestnut.
Doraville staff presented the proposed FY2026 budget to the City Council and opened the public hearing. The presenter (identified in the transcript as “China”) said the budget totals about $70 million, up from roughly $53 million the prior year, driven largely by capital project funding for the city center and an increase in grant‑funded projects.
Key highlights from staff: the budget incorporates about 578 annexed parcels, includes a 3 percent merit increase for employees, adds three positions (two code‑enforcement officers and one maintenance worker), and includes roughly $5 million in grant revenues (many linked to G DOT and US DOT connectivity projects). Staff also itemized capital requests (police vehicles, cameras and software, code vehicles, park bathrooms funded by grant, and the city‑center development project).
During the public hearing several residents criticized process and spending. Tom Hart objected to downtown plans and alleged the city is “going to be to $60 million before we're out the door of this thing” and questioned why assets were not repurposed and why traffic lights at Chestnut/Central had not been installed earlier. Hart also urged the council to provide a response about planning and coordination with G DOT and neighboring agencies.
Council members responded with clarifications about grant matches, the role of G DOT in traffic‑signal siting, and examples of projects that are fully grant‑funded. Council members expressed support for the code‑enforcement hires and the merit increases; staff and council pledged follow‑up on procurement and engineering questions raised by speakers.
What’s next: The council held the public hearing and discussed the budget; staff will continue to refine details and bring budget adoption items back to the council in the next scheduled action.
