By Jean Cole
ATHENS — It’s been a good three or four years for city-of-Athens finances.
With revenue exceeding expenses by about $1 million in 2009, the city has money to pay off some large projects.
City Council President Ronnie Marks said coming up $1 million in the black is the result of careful budgeting.
“The City Council passed a conservative budget, and our department heads administratively fell in line with cost-cutting measures that resulted in savings,” Marks said. “For the past three or four years, we’ve had good revenues. I anticipate that 2010 will be a challenge, but we will meet it.”
Among the projects the city is able to pay off are:
• Roy Long Road. “We had an overrun on this project that extended all the way from the intersection of U.S. 72 and South Jefferson Street south and around Steelcase and east on Roy Long Road all the way to U.S. 31,” Marks said. “We paid off a $117,424 invoice.”
• Site work for Custom Polymer rail spur in Elm Street Industrial Park. “We ran into some bad dirt there and had to move the dirt and replace it with crushed rock,” he said. “We projected $80,000 but, because of the bad dirt situation, it cost $115,000. This is really important to Custom Polymer because they are thinking of doubling in size.”
• Cottonwood sewer. “We were able to pay off our matching portion of $98,875 for the Cottonwood sewer grant,” Marks said.
• Police cars. “A couple of years ago, we bought a bunch of police cars and financed them. We paid them off at $159,335.”
• EastSide Junction incentive. “We appropriated an industrial-development incentive to the developer up to $350,000 by paying back half of the 1-percent sales tax. This is the first year for the payback of $85,000 and the city’s half was $85,000. The school’s portion, which was not affected, was $170,000 in sales tax,” he said. “And that’s all new money.”
• Clyde Mabry Drive. “This was a joint project with Limestone County for the street going back to the Health Department. We paid off our portion of $106,315.”
• Capital-expenditure fund. “We were able to put $175,000 in that account.”
• Municipal Court. “The Municipal Court had gone over budget by about $1,000 on materials, so we were able to appropriate that much to the court.”
