The Problem:

County spending has exceeded tax receipts over the past four years. The current Chairman has balanced the budget by spending $100 million of capital reserves and this path is unsustainable. County spending must be brought in line with the continuing forecast of lower tax receipts.

	We need a sustainable budget process that will provide a true balanced budget without depleting the capital reserves and without raising taxes. Similar to legislation recently passed by the Georgia legislature, Fulton County needs to implement zero-based budgeting across all agencies so that every dollar of spending is justified every year.
	We need to fully fund at the appropriate level the county services that are critical to all Fulton County citizens, and then prioritize and reassess all other services.
	We must protect and replenish our capital reserves which will be drawn down to $40.7 million this year, according to the county’s 2010 budget.
	Our budget must be realistic. Property taxes represent the majority of the county’s revenue. The 2010 budgeted property tax revenue is back at 2007 levels because of today’s real estate crisis. The county should plan its expenditures based on this reality and recognize that property tax receipts may continue to fall as property assessments are adjusted to actual market prices

The Solution:

We must justify every dollar on each line item of the County budget. We will use a “zero-based budgeting” top justify every tax dollar spent by the county, audit all non-state mandated services to identify the true benefit to the taxpayer, audit employee staffing throughout all County functions to determine where efficiencies can be gained, and establish a strategic initiative to examine the deployment of new technology, where appropriate, to reduce personnel costs.