Letter from the Mayor

We are all looking forward to coming out of the challenges we have faced as a community while dealing with the effects of COVID-19. The City of Roswell recognizes that our residents and businesses have been hit hard by the Pandemic.

The City continues to be on a strong financial footing as a result of conservative fiscal management and the maintenance of our General Fund reserves of 25%. The FY 2022 Approved Budget is balanced.

FY 2021 revenues were budgeted very conservatively due to the unknown impact of COVID -19. During the first few months of the pandemic the revenues dropped significantly and then the economy started to improve. Revenue numbers are still not at the pre-pandemic levels but have been higher than what had originally been anticipated in the FY 2021 budget.

The additional revenues received above projected revenues have been dedicated to fund operating, maintenance and one-time capital requests during the fiscal year that were initially deferred during the FY 2021 budget process, including the funding of $800,000 in COVID relief programs for our residents and businesses.

Mid-year items funded included the following:

• 2 additional positions for the Police Department, and an Economic Development Director position

• Maintenance of City facilities, parks, and trails

• $8 million for road resurfacing, $800K in intersection improvements along Hwy 92 at King Road and Woodstock Road, and funding to begin a study of the Grimes Bridge Road Corridor

The outlook is brighter for revenues in FY 2022, though not fully back to pre-pandemic levels.

The overall cost of maintaining current service levels increased by 9%, as reflected in the FY 2022 General Fund base budget. As a result, there are fewer dollars, as compared to previous years, to allocate to new operating or maintenance capital requests.

The City has been awarded $11.4 million funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. Depending upon federal guidelines, some of these funds could potentially be invested in priority maintenance and one-time capital projects.

I can promise our residents that the City will continue to provide you with high-quality services. We are managing to get through this difficult time together, and we will continue to work hard every day to make sure Roswell continues to be the best place to live, work, and play in Georgia.