Rec eived 
MAY O:J 1986 
DOCUMENTS UGA LIBRARIES 
GEORGIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT F I NANCE ~ 1985: AN OVERV I EW 
Georgia Depart me nt of Commun i t y Affair s Jim Higdon ~ Co mmis s io n e r 
Governmen t Inform atio n Div is ion 4 0 Mariett a Street 
A tlanta~ Georgia 3 030 3 
J anua ry 15~ 1986 An Equal E~ployeent Opportunity Employer 
 
  GEORG IA LOCAL GOVERNM ENT F I NANCE PROG RA M 
 
-- P RO J ECT S TA FF - - 
 
Project Coordination~ Research Analysis, Data Base Management Depart me nt o f Co mm u ni t y Aff a ir s, Gove r n me nt In f orm ati on Di vi s ion 
 
Reporting, 
 
Lynn T ho r n t on ~ As s is t an t Com mi s si on e r Win fr ed Ow en s ~ Assi s t a nt Di v i s io n Di r e ctor Paul W. Lycett, S e n i o r Ana l ys t/ Co mp u te r Ap- 
pli c ation s Speci a li s t 
 
Data Collection and Local Government Coordination Dep a rt me n t of Co mmu nity A f+ a i r s ~ Te chnica l As s i s tanc e Di vi s ion 
Ke n Co o k ~ Ass is tan t Co mm i ssi o n er Mi k e She rberg er~ Assis t ant Di vision Director William A. Huffm ast e r , Lo c al Go ve r n me n t 
F inancial Sp eci al i st 
 
Computer Programming and Data Processing Un i v e rsit y of Georgia, In s ti tut e of Community and Area De v elopm ent 
Dr. Joseph Whorton , Director Jim Feldt, Policy a nd Decision Analyst 
Carl Vinson Institute of Go vernment 
Patty Glynn, Research Anal yst Robert Sellers, Operations Re search Ass ociate 
 
  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
 
Th e . D e p a ~ t m e n t of Communit y A ff ai ~ s g r atefu l ly ac - 
 
k n o wled ges t he cooper a ti o n of c it y a nd count y o f fi c i al s 
 
in comple ting a n d r e tur n in g t he s u~vey f o r ms f r o m whi ch 
 
t h e da ta in t h i s ~e por ts wer e d e~i v ed. 
 
The De pa r t me nt 
 
a lso ex presses i t s a pp~ecia tio n t o th e fo l l o wing o rga n- 
 
i z a ti o ns a n d a ge ncies . wh ich co ntr ibuted t o t h e r e por t 
 
de sig n~ or t o t he co l l e c t i o n, a na l ys is ~ a n d p ro c e s sin g 
 
o f t he f in an ci al d a t a . 
 
Ar ea Plann ing a nd De ve lo p me n t Co mmi ss i o n s 
 
Ass o c i a t io n Co un t y Commissioners o f Geo rgi a 
 
Bu r e au o f the Ce n s us ~ U. S. De p a r t me n t of Commer c e 
 
Carl Vin s on In sti tu te of Government~ Unive r sity o f Georgia 
 
Georgi a Department of Audit s 
 
Ge o r g i a Dep artm ent of Educ ation 
 
Georgi a De partment of Education 
 
Georgia Dep artmen t of Human Resource s 
 
Georgia Dep artment of Revenue 
 
Georgia Municipal Association 
 
Georgia Societ y of Certified Public Ac c o u n t a n t s 
Office o f Revenue Sharing, u.S. Department o f th e 
Treasur y 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Finance ' 8 5 
 
1 
 
Reader ' s Guide 
 
3 
 
Highlights. 
 
County Government Finances . 
 
9 
 
Municipal Government Finances 
 
27 
 
Appendi x A: Dat a Categories 
 
45 
 
Appendi x B: Local Government 
 
Financ i al Dat a 
 
51 
 
Appendi x C: Percentage Comparisons of County and Municipal Revenue~ Expenditure~ Debt and Asset Items. 
 
Appendi x D: Counties Included in Survey Results. 
 
Appendix E: Mun icipali ties Included 
 
in Survey Results . 
 
59 
 
 FINANCE ~85 
 
No a spect of lo cal government causes mor e problems for local government officials than does local government f i n a n c e . The v e r y mention of finance in a county commi s sion or a cit y council meeting is certain t o res u l t in a cl a sh of opinions and wills. 
 
Information contained in this report is not p v- 
 
pected to solve the finance problems that confront lo- 
 
c al government officials. 
 
Nor will it reduce the 
 
amount of contention that might res ult from the mention 
 
of the word finance in a commission or council meeting . 
 
It is hoped~ however~ that Georgia Local Government Fi- 
 
nances, 1985: An Overview~ will help local government 
 
leaders understand and cope with the fiscal issues that 
 
e>: 1 st. 
 
As late as 1979~ Georgia was one of just three 
 
states with no laws requiring counties and cities to 
 
conduct audits or prepare financial reports. 
 
In 1980~ 
 
the Georgia General Assembly enacted the Local Govern- 
 
ment Financial Management Standards Act (Act 1405~ 
 
Georgia Law s 1980~ as amended) placing financial 
 
manag ement requirements on localities and requiring the 
 
Department of Community Affairs to prepare an annual 
 
report on loc al government finances. This, the fourth 
 
annual report, was presented to the Go vernor, the 
 
Sp eaker of the House of Representatives~ and the Presi- 
 
dent of the Senate (Lieutenant Governor ) by January 15~ 
 
1985~ in conformance with provisions of Ac t 140 5. 
 
The information used to prepare Georgia Local 
 
Government Finances, 1985: An Overview, was collected 
 
through a comprehensive survey of every county and city 
 
<;.Iovernment. in the state. Onl y general ptrr o o se local 
 
governments are surveyed. Excluded are such entities 
 
as school boards and most special districts or 
 
authorities. 
 
The survey is the product of a coopera- 
 
tive agreement between the State of Georgia and the 
 
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Survey results are provided 
 
to the Census Bureau for its nationwide reports on lo- 
 
cal government, and to the U.S. Department of the 
 
Treasury~ Office of Revenue Sharing. The Treasury uses 
 
the data to assist in establish annual levels of 
 
Revenue Sharing funding to local governments during the 
 
following fiscal year. 
 
The survey obtained data for each government's 
 
most recent fiscal year~ end i ng beb-H:.' en Jul y 1 ~ 1984 
 
E(r, d J ur, (~ 30, 1 Ci'8 5. 
 
Th us the data r eported doe s not 
 
1 
 
 c o nfo~m t o a nyo ne s peci f ic 12-month c a l e n da~ p e ~iod o ~ 
 
fi sc a l y ea ~ , as l ocal g o v e ~ n m e n t s hav e v a~ yin g f isc a l 
 
yea ~ s _ Ad ditio na l l y , s u~ vey ~ espon s e s a ~e n o t a ud i t e d 
 
~ e p o ~ t 5~ ne cess i tati n g a d e g~ee of c a u t i o n i n th e 
 
a na l y s i s a n d inte ~p~ etat io n o f t he ~ e sult s. A l s o~ l o - 
 
c al 
 
q ov e ~nments us e di ff e~ en t budge t i n g syst em s . 
 
C o nse q ue n t ly ~ ce~tain da t a ~ e q u e sted i n t he su~vey ma y 
 
n ot be .o b t a i n a b I e f ~ o m ev e l- y go ver-n me nt >:; Lo ca l a c- 
 
co u n t s a n d ~ e c o ~d s . 
 
This ye a ~ , a e i n p ast y e a ~ s , th e ~esp o nse o f 
 
count y a nd cit y o ff icials was o ut st an d ing. Al l 1 5 9 
 
c o u nty gove~ n me n ts co mp lete d and ~ e t u ~ ned thei~ s urvey 
 
fo~ms. 
 
Th e Co l u mb us - Mus c og e e Count y con solidat e d 
 
gove ~nm en t is clas s i fi ed a s a c i t y, howev e ~, i n k eepin g 
 
wi th wi th Ce nsus Bu~ e au classifications. 
 
F o~ th at 
 
r e a s on, fo~ th e pu~po s e of the Local Gov ernment Finance 
 
P~oj e c t , 
 
Co l u mb u s - Mus c o g e e 
 
is c ounted a s a cit y 
 
g over n men t . 
 
Of the 5 34 municipalities sent s u ~ v e y 
 
f orms , 4 91 completed surveys and are included in thi s 
 
a na lysis . 
 
Ev e~ y city with a population of ove~ 2,100 
 
i s i nc l u d e d , 
 
In Septembe~ of 1985 the Dep a~t men t o f Commu n ity 
 
Af fair s p ublish e d a collect ion of p ubl i c ations ent i t le d 
 
th e 198~ Ge o r- q~ Lo c a l Gover nm en t Fi na.nce s : [ i SCi:u:" 
 
F' J.anr'!..:.~.9. Gui de . 
 
The !3u id e h as compa~ativ e d a t a us eful 
 
fo~ l o ca l bu dgeting, 
 
w h a t eve ~ the size 
 
of 
 
the 
 
jLw i s d ic tion. 
 
S i rn i l a ~ in content t o t he 1 9 84 F i__scal 
 
F'l a r~Q~D.~ G u id~, the 1(78 5 Guide diffe~s i n th at a s e p - 
 
a~ a t e ~ ep o~t was prep a~ed for each ind ivid u al c o u nty 
 
and mun icip al po pul ation g r o u p . 
 
The ~ epo~ts not onl y 
 
p~ e s en t t he f i na n c i a l data fo~ the membe~s of the g~oup 
 
bu t a l so for t h e county and municipal t otals a s well. 
 
Th e ~ ep o ~t s are available upon request fr om th e D ep a~t  
 
rn en t of Co mmu n it y Affairs. 
 
Up on r e q cre s t , local and state agencie s a~e a f forded a c c ess t o the data base of local f isc al in fo~ma tion maintain ed by the DCA, allowin g oth e~wise unpublish ed d at a to be made available. 
 
Da t a fo ~ i nd iv i d u a l j u ~ i s d i c t i o n s i s ~el e a s ed onl y wit h c e r t a i n r est r i cti ons, includ ing n o t i f i c a t i o n o f ea ch l o c ali t y u p o n ~el ease of i t s d at a to othe~ th a n g o ve ~ nment u s e r s . 
 
 READER'S GUIDE TO GEORGIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
FINANCES~ 1985: AN OVERVIEW 
 
A book f u l l of numb e r s u suall y will n o t ma ke fo r e asy rea di ng . Rea l iz i n g t h is , e v e r y e f fo r t wa s made t o make t h is r e p ort a s presentable as p o s sibl e f or t he p eopl e who wi l l b e interes ted in local g ov ernment f in an c e. Fo r th at reaso n , eac h chapt er in thi s rep or t wa s wri t t en s o th a t i t could b e read a l o ne with out r e ad in g th e contents of ot h er chap ter s. 
 
For a br i e f look a t the overall picture o f l ocal 
 
g overnme nt f inan c e in 19 85 , the Highlights ch a pt e r i s 
 
t h e o ne to r e ad. Highlights shows the import ant dif- 
 
f eren ces in re v enu e sources~ expenditure patt erns, and 
 
borr oNing p r ac t i ces . 
 
It is clear from a readin g o f 
 
thi s c hap t e r th at any p articular state-level action 
 
co ncer n i ng l o c a l fin ance, such as a ma nd at ed lo c al 
 
f u nct i o n , i s likel y to aff ect counties and mun ici - 
 
pal i t i e s very d if fe ren t ly . 
 
T he two mo st i mp o r ta n t chapters o f t he report, the 
 
backb one o f t h e report, are County Government Finances 
 
and Municipal Government Finances. Both chapte r s ar e 
 
i d e n t i c a l in s t r u c tur e . 
 
Major topics o f thes e 
 
c hap ters, in order, are : 
 
Gener al Revenue s Utilit y S ystem Revenues Gene r a l Expenditures Utility System Expenditures Debt Ca sh and In vestment Asset s 
 
Gr aphic s th at accompan y each secti on show th e v~hol e "pi e ", s.u c h a s generc<.l revenue s. Th e sec t i o ll then takes a closer look at each component of the pie, pull in g e ach s li c e o u t to examine it in detail, as pullin g th e l oc al t a x s l i ce out of the general r e venues p i f~ . 
 
Appendix A d etails what c o mp r i s e s a c e r t a i n cat e- 
 
gory. 
 
The c at eg ories and s u b - c a t e g o r ies of da t a c ol- 
 
l ect ed fr om c o u n t ie s and citi e s are listed. 
 
The a c t ua l financial data for counties, munici - 
 
p allt e s a n d tot al local government i s presen t ed i n Ap- 
 
pendix B. 
 
"T"', e data presented i n t h i s r-er) ort i s 
 
p ~ e l i ol i l-la ~y (j a "ta i s s L,bje c t to char1ge irl ttl e fljtl~~ e as 
 
3 
 
 da t a in more thoroughl y e xami ned and r efined. 
 
Append i x C contains a ta b le si mi la r t o Ap p e n d ix B with perc ent ag e c om p ari sons for c oun t ie s a n d municip al i ti es. Although this d a t a is contai ned elsewhere in d i f f erent sec tio ns of t h e r epor t ~ the re ader can use t h is t ab le t o mo re eas il y mak e comp arisons of county and mu n i~ipal r e v en u e sources~ o r e xpen d iture or de bt items. 
 
The lis t s o f the coun tie s a n d mu nicipalities re- 
 
s p o n d i n g to the 1985 Surv e y o f Loc al Go vernment are 
 
presen ted in Append ices D a nd E . 
 
Population figures 
 
pro vided are Jul y 1~ 1982 estimates f r o m the Bureau of 
 
the Census. 
 
4 
 
 HIGHLIGHTS 
 
Thi s chapt e~ pr e sent s a cursor y e x amin ation of th e 
 
major hi ghl i gh t s o f t he find in g s of th e 19 8 5 loc al 
 
g o v e rnment fin an ce s u ~vey ~ pointing out th e import ant 
 
t~ en d s a n d co n t~asts o f t he d a t a. 
 
F o~ a m o ~ e d etail ed 
 
an 3 1 ys.i ~:. . o f th ('? d ,3.t c:i see t hE> ch a.pte r-s on C D U r \ t y and 
 
mu n i cip al f in an c e s a nd t he appendix on t he c omp a~isons 
 
of co u nty a n d mun icip al d at a. 
 
General Reve nues 
 
* G eo~ g i a ' s Io c 3l go ve ~ n me n ts rep ort ed re venue s 
 
of $3 .6 bill ion in F Y 1985 f ~om all source s . 
 
Gen eral ~ev e n ue s ~ 
 
excluding ~ evenues from 
 
u t i l i t y systems ~ amount ed to a repo~ted $2.4 
 
billion . 
 
Utility revenues amounted to a 
 
~ epo rt ed $ 1 . 2 billion . 
 
* P~op e~t y t a xe s a ~e a ga i n the large st reported 
s o u ~ c e of loc al go v e r n me n t rev enues~ a lthough co l l e c t ions decreased b y 1% to $792 mil lion from $ 8 0 0 million in F Y 1984. Real and pers o n a l prop erty t axes account for much o f the d e cr ea se, with co l lec t i o n s of $63 3 million~ $ 7 million l e s s than the amount r eported in FY 1984. 
 
* Propert y tax e s a r e not as important to munici - 
 
p alitie s a s th ey are t o counties . For munici - 
 
pal itie s ~ p rop ert y taxe s account fo~ 19% of 
 
g ener al r evenue s. 
 
Counties~ however~ receive 
 
44% of their general re venu es fr om the 
 
proper t y' t a;.: . 
 
* Local op tion sa les tax collections were 
reported b y 125 countie s and 334 municipali ti e s . The loca l option tax accounted for 12% of count y and 16% of municipal general 
r e \/ enl.l t~ ~:~ " 
 
* The local op tion sales tax has b e e n the 
f astest growing local revenue source. Amount ing to a tot al of $ 323 million~ the local op tion tax h a s in creased by $66 million in each o f the l a st two r ep orting period s. Amounting to a r epo rt ed 9 % of c o mb i n e d g en er al revenu es in F Y 1 9 8 3~ th e local option ta x amounted to a rep orted 13 % in the past year. 
 
 * Th e i ns u ra n c e p r e miu ms t a x, a l i n e i t e m o f t h e 
sa les, e x c ise , a n d special use t a x e s categor y, p r o ved t o be t he s i ng le f a ste s t g rowi n g r e v enue s o ur ce in t e rms of p ercen t ag e g r o wt h fo r c o u nt ies . Du e to a c ha n ge in s t a t e l aw, th e i ns ur a nc e pr em i ums ta x, amount in g to $ 9 mi l l i on in F Y 19 84, g r ew at a r e p or t e d ra t e of 20 8 % to $ 3 3 mi l lion i n FY 19 8 5. 
 
* Af t e r two year s of decli ne , F e d e r a l f u n ds to 
 
G eor ~ ia ' s lo c a l g ove rn men t s s ho wed a n a l mos t 
 
13 % i n cr e ase f r o m FY 19 8 4. 
 
State i nter- 
 
government al f u nd s t o l oc alit i es s h owed a 
 
s li g h t ly hi gh er re po rte d g ro wt h rat e, 14% , f o r 
 
th e year . 
 
General Expenditures 
 
* Loca l gove rnment g e ner al e xpenditures, n o n - 
utilit y s y stem s pendi n g , t o ta ll e d $2 . 4 b il l ion fo r t he yea r, a n inc r ease o f 8 % o v e r th e previ o u s y ea r . Lin e it e ms r e c e i vin g the ma jor ity o f t h e s pen d i ng were p ub l ic s a fe t y, $570 milli on; ad mi nistrati o n, $ 4 45 million; h ealth and hum an s e r v i c e s , $3 19 milli on; a n d highway s, s t r e e t s a n d dra i n age , $283 million. 
 
* Sign if ic a nt 
 
s p e n d i n g i n c r ease s included 
 
mu ni c i pal c our t s , up 38% ; co un ty a d mi n is t r a - 
 
tion an d lei sur e serv i ce s , b ot h up 30%; c ounty 
 
pub li c works , up 2 2%; c ou n ty publ ic s af e t y , up 
 
16%; a n d mun ici p a l a d mi n ist r a t io n up 1 5 %. 
 
* Sign i f i c a nt 
 
spen di n g dec re a s e s included 
 
mun icipal h e alth and hum an ser v i ces, down 2 3%; 
 
a nd munic i pal e d u c a t i o n (n on-s chool b o a r d 
 
e x p e nd i t u r es ), dow n 2 6 %. 
 
Utilities 
* Wa ter and s e we r sy s t e ms con tin u ed as the 
dom in an t l o c al g ove r n me n t utilit y with repor t ed r e ven u e s of $ 504 million and e xpendi t ures o f $ 459 milli on. Combined r evenues incr e a s e d b y 17% o ver t h e prev ious ye ar and e xpe n di tur e s i n c re ase d b y 20 %. 
~ Uti lities can b e a s i g n i f i c a n t re v en ue s o u r ce fo r mu n i ci pa l i t i es . El e ctri c s y s t e m r even ue s t o t a l l ed $3 23 mi l l io n a n d g as s y s t e m re ven ues 
6 
 
 totalled $247 million. Electric systems could claim net revenues~ an exces s of revenues over e x p e n d i t u r es ~ of $5 2 million and gas s y s t e ms could claim net revenues of $ 35 million. County electric s ys t e ms an d county gas s y s t e ms are r ar e ~ onl y one of e ach s y s t e m was reported. 
 
* Municip a l wat e r a n d sew er system s mo v ed back 
 
a h ead of electri c s y s t ems as the number one 
 
mu n i c i p al ut i l i ty rev enue s o ur ce . 
 
Municipal 
 
water r e ven ues inc r eased by 17% o ver the y e a r 
 
whil e e le c tr ic r ev enu e s increa sed by 8% . 
 
Debt 
 
* Local governments reported outstanding debt of 
$2.5 billion at the end of the fiscal year~ a s l i g h t increase of 3 % o ver the amount reported at the end of the pr e vi ous year. The majority of t h i s debt~ 7 5 % or $ 1 . 8 billion~ is in the form of revenue bonds. The Cit y of Atlanta alone is resp on sible for $991 million or 40% of the local government debt outstanding in the state. 
 
* Local qov ernments report ed issuing new debt 
 
during the fiscal year of 544 6 mi l l i o n . Each 
 
of the past two years has seen an increase in 
 
the amount of debt issued from $119 million in 
 
FY 198 3 to 5 310 million in FY 1984. 
 
Thirty- 
 
two percent or $141 million of the new debt 
 
incurred was borrowed for county and municipal 
 
water and sewer systems. 
 
* Counties a n d municipalities have different 
borrowing patterns. Counties reported a higher percentage of their new debt being issued in the form of s h o r t - t e r m debt~ 55% as opposed to 15% for municipalities~ while municipalities i s sued a t,igher percentage of their debt as revenue bonds~ 68% to 28% for counties. 
 
Cash and Investment Assets 
* Local g o ve r n me n t s r eport ed co mb i n ed cash and 
investment asset s of s l i g h t ly less th an $2 billion at th e end of the fi sc al y e a r . 
7 
 
 Counti e s r ep ort e d a sset s of $ 7 18 million and mun ic ipalities reported a s s ets of $1 . 3 b i l li o n . The c omb ined tot al rep ort ed wa s 15% ove r the a mo u n t r eport ed a t the e n d of th e pr e vious ye ar. The Cit y o f Atl an t a alone can claim 4 5% of th e c a sh a n d inve s tm e nts a s sets rep o r t e d b y muni c ip aliti e s . 
8 
 
 COUNTY GOVERNMENT FINANCES 
In fi scal ye a r 1 9 85~ Geor gi a ' s c o u n t ies rai sed $ 1. 5 42 billion from all revenue s o u r c e s. Count y spending for o t her th an deb t serv ic e t ot all ed $1.467 billion. The amount of n ew deb t in curred far ex c e e d e d the a mo u n t of de bt I'- eti n~cl b y ~;;; ~7'=;) m i Ll Lori , \."Ihil t:~ . the a ino u n t of interest p aid on t he debt o utstan d i n g equ aled $ 53 mi 11 i OI"I. 
O verall~ c o u nty r ev enu e s incr e ased by 14 X in FY 19 85 ~ rising f r o m a r e p orted $ 1 .35 5 b illion in FY 1984. Exp e n d i t u r e s inc r ea s ed b y 15 . 1 X ~ f r o m a b as e o f $1 .274 in F Y 1984 .. 
Flow of County Finances 
 
GeneraloS" 
 
REVENUES 
 
~ DD 0 .~62 B DO 0 0 0 
 
.. eO M 
 
, 
 
L=:::::..~~~~~~ 
 
Utility 
 
Ceneral 
EXPENDITURES 
Utility 
 
COUNTY REVENUE 
County revenue con si st s o f two parts: general r evenues and utilit y revenues. The two are e xamined s e p a r a t e l y because proc eed s from u t i l i t y operation s~ although a part of t ot al c o u n t y funds~ are typically r estr icted to use with in util i t y ope rations~ and thu s ar e unavailable for other fi s c al p ur pose s . 
COUNTY REVENUES 
 
Utility Revenues $18? HUllon 
 
Other Revenues 
$234 Million 
15.2% 
 
Property Taxes $ 59 3 Ht.Ll.Lcn 
 
Int er gov ernm ent al $311 HUllon 
 
Sa le s , Exc i s e, S pec i a l Use $22 4 HUllo n 
 
 GENERAL REVENUES 
 
The p~imar y l eading cou nt y revenue s ou ~ c e is the 
 
p ~ope~ty ta x, a c co u n t i ng fo ~ 3 8 % o f total county 
 
income , down however f ~om 41 % of total count y i n come in 
 
t he l a s t f isca l year . 
 
Rep orte d p r op e~t y taxe s were 
 
$593 mi l l .i o n i n F Y 1 9 8 5 . an i nc ~e a se o f $2 5 mi l l io n 
 
o ve l~ 1984 . 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT PROPERTY TAXES 
 
15.2% 
 
29 .9% 
 
Re al & Per s on al Property Tax e s 
S~60 Hillion 
 
Hator Veh i c l e S5 0 Hill ion 
 
Pu blic Utilit i e s Ta xe s 
 
$~ 1 Hil lio n 
 
1.0% 
 
<, 'rax Co llect i o n Fees 
 
1. 5% 
 
S16 Hill i on 
 
I 
Ot her Pro pe r ty Tax es 
 
S2 5 HUlion 
 
Real and pe~ son al p rop e~t y t a x e s account fo~ 7 8 % 
 
of all county prope~t y t a x coll ecti on s, the sam e pe~ 
 
centC?:1.ge a 0::. in the lc.~ st fi s.ccd y e c<. ~- ~ and 2 7 1. of total 
 
counity ~evenue s. In th !? l a st fiscal y e a ~ , hO\.-l ever ~e cd 
 
and pe~sonal p~operty t a x coll e c tion s accounted for 3 31. 
 
of total revenues. 
 
O v e~ the year~ ~eal a n d pe~sonal 
 
p~op e~ty t a x collectio n s in c~ eas ed by 3 . 9% . Due to the 
 
incr eased importance of the l oc al o ption sal e s tax , the 
 
~a te of g~owth o f ~ e al a nd p ersonal p r o p e r t y ta x col- 
 
lection s ha s g ~own at a decreas ing r a t e. 
 
F~om 1982 to 
 
198 3~ th e ~ a te of gro wth wa s 6. 0 %; f~ om 198 3 to 1984, 
 
5.8 %; and f ~ om 1984 t o 19 8 5 , 3. 8 %. Th i s s e ri e s of 
 
smal l e r in c ~eases i s d ue i n l a ~ g e pa~t t o the p~ope~t y 
 
t a ;: ' II ~ 0 I I b a c k s II i n t Ii 0 s e c 0 u n t i e ~':, im p I e me n t in CJ tile 1 % 
 
loca l option s a l e s tax. 
 
Int.er- go v E~~nment al ~ e ve n u e5. t hose f u nd s f r-orn othel~ th a n l o c al S[.Ju~ces, ~e mained th e ru.unb e-r t~'IO S:O U I~C:[:? of 
 
10 
 
 A CLOSER LOOK AT INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES 
 
15. 2% 
 
11.7% 
 
Oth er Local 
$8 M11110n<, 
 
::c::::::::::::::::===-- 
 
0 .5% 
 
Fedeca1 $91 Million 
 
State $212 Million 
 
county revenues. Revenues from stat e , feder al, and other local governments added $311 million to count y c of f e r s , an i n c rea s e o f 8% over the p r e v i o u s year. Last year's Overview, however, s h o wed th a t intergover nmental revenue s declin e d b y s l ig ht ly o ver 1% from FY 1983 to FY 1984 for coun ti es. The fo l lo wi n g t a b l e su mmari zes the changes in in ter go v ernm ental re venues o ver t he past two fiscal years. 
 
Plmount Net Change Total Sta-te Total Federal Total Other Local 
 
F Y83-F Y84 -$4 mill i on 
- 1 . 5 1. +$15 million -$ 20 mi 11 i ori 
No ch ange 
 
O~84-FY8 ~ 
-$ 2 3 mi. 11 i on 
7.7i: +$1 7 million +-$5 mi 11 ion +$1 million 
 
State intergovernmental funds continue to be a 
 
more important portion of the c o u n t y revenue pie. 
 
Wh ile federal fund s continued to d e cr e a s e as a pe rcent- 
 
a g e of total intergovernment al f unds, state funds 
 
r emained as 681. of intergovernmental funds, the same 
 
pel--cf2ntage as the previous y e a r' . Since 198::, a s last 
 
year' s Overview report showed, fed er al funds as a per- 
 
centage of total count y intergovernmental revenues have 
 
d e clined from 421. to 29%. 
 
Th e a mo u n t of federal 
 
funds, however, have inc reased fro m $86 million to $90 
 
million. State funds increased fr om $195 million to 
 
$211 million since 1982. 
 
The largest categorical revenues from other g o vernments were state health g r an t s, $ 140 million; 
 
11 
 
 f ed eral revenue sharing~ $67 million; state road a n d b rid ge funds, $21 million; oth er s t a t e intergov ernmental fu'lds, $18 mill ion; a n d o t h e r- fed f';;l~ al fur-ids ar,d f ederal communit y development bl oc k gr ant funds, $ 10 mi L l Lori e ac h. 
A CLOSER LOOK AT SALES, EXCISE AND SPECIAL USE TAXES 
15.2% 
 
20.2% 
 
10.4% 
 
Local Option Sa les 
 
All Other..__ 0.5% 
 
1.9% 
 
$ 1 60 Million 
 
$9 Hillion 
 
1.7% 
 
-------- In su~anc e Premiums Tax $29 Million 
 
Alcoholic Beverage Tax 
 
$26 Hillion 
 
Although sales, ex c i s e and sp ecial use taxes s h o we d growth as a percentage of total count y rev enue s, th e y remained as the third largest sourc e of tot al county revenues. In FY 1984 , sales, e xci se and special use taxes amounted to 12.7% of to tal count y revenues. In the past year, the perc entage increased to 14 .5%. 
 
Local option sales taxes are th e major par t of t h e 
 
category of sales, e xcise and speci al use tax e s. 
 
In 
 
th e past fiscal year, sales, e :-:ci se., and =,pecial us e 
 
t a xes contributed $224 million to total count y 
 
r e venues. 
 
The rate of incr ease i n t h is category was 
 
siqnificant. 
 
In 1984 sales, e x c i s e , a n d special use 
 
t a x e s amounted to $174 million, which ex c l u d e s the 
 
proce eds from the MARTA sales ta x collected in DeKalb 
 
a n d Fulton Counties. From 1984 to 1985, th e rate of 
 
increase was 29 %. Thi s growth wa s caused primarily by 
 
increased collections in loc al opt ion sales taxes from 
 
$1 3 0 million in 1984 to $16 0 million i n 1985. 
 
Although the number of counti e =:., 1 25, r ep ortin r;] c o l l e c t i o n s from the local op t i o n sales tax did n ot 
 
12 
 
 vary f r om 1984 to 1 9 8 5, in 19 8 5 Fu lt o n Coun ty c o l lected th e tax fo r the fir s t t ime for a n entire year . A l a r g e portion of t h e inc r ease in the local op tion s a l e s tax co ll ection s c an b e a t t ri b uted t o this fact. F u l t o n Co u nty repo r t ed c o l l e c t io ns o f $26 mi ll ion in t he p a st y e a r , a l a r g e port i o n of th e 530 mi ll io n i nc rea se . 
 
Although not con sidered as a part of c ount y general reven ues , t h e loc a l option sa les tax c o l lect ed i n Fult on a n d De Kalb Counti e s f or th e MARTA s yste m de ser ves a c urso r y e x amin ation. In FY 1 9 84 t h e t wo countie s r e p or t ed c oll e ct io n s of $ 11 7 million . In t h e p ast fis cal year, the reported collections t o t a l l e d $13 1 mil l ion, a n i nc r e a s e of 11 %. 
 
A r efin em ent o f th e s u r vey q uesti o n na ir e pr o v id e d 
 
d a t a wh ich was n ot av ail able i n t h e p revi o u s years on 
 
the dedi c a t e d sal e s t a x which is being col l e c ted in two 
 
c o un t i e s for speci al purposes. 
 
Spa ld i ng and Union 
 
Count ies repo rted total collections of $ 4 mill i o n f ro m 
 
a 1% l o cal option sales tax . 
 
Al coho lic be vera g e t a xes amounte d to $26 mi l lion i n 1985 , t h e sam e amoun t a s i n th e previou s year. Th e co l lectio ns of county insuranc e p r em i ums t a xe s, h owe v er , exper ienc e d a larg e increas e. From a l e v el of $9 mil lion i n 1984 t h e proceeds fr o m this tax i ncreased to 529 mi l li o n in 1 98 5 , ma k in g it the l a rgest growing county revenue source in th e year i n terms o f p erc e n tage g r o wt h. The incr ease in the insuranc e p re mi u ms tax can b e attribut ed to a change in t he law in 19 84 whi ch a l lowe d counti e s to levy the t ax o n prop e r t y a nd casual t y p o l ici e s a s well as o n lif e insu r a nc e po licies . 
 
The top thr e e county reve n u e sour ces - - propert y 
 
t axes , sales, e xcise, and s p ec ia l use tax es , a n d in t e r - 
 
gov e rnme ntal reven ues -- equaled 73% o f tot al c oun t y 
 
revenue . 
 
In t h e fiscal y e a r , t h e t hr ee g ained $ 98 
 
mi llio n , a n i nc re a se of 9% o ve r the pr e vio us year . 
 
Other additional types of count y rev enue s inc r e a s e d o v er t h e p ast fisc al yea r . Us e o f mon e y a nd pr o perty re v enue gre w f r o m $4 2 mi l li o n i n FY 1 9 8 4 to $60 mi ll io n , a n in crea se o f 4 1%. This i n creas e can be at t r ibu t ed t o three factors: inc r eas e s o f $1 2 mi ll ion fr om inve stmen t e arning s; receipt s f r o m sa le s o f r e al property , up 73 %; a n d r eceipt s f r om s a les o f ma t e ri a l s and equip ment , up 34%. 
 
Reve nues t h a t s ho we d app re cia b l e losses were ra ilr o a d e qu i p me nt t axes, - 25 %, mob il e h om e t a x e s, - 14% ; i rlt an gib le t a x e s , -7% o r $1 mi l lio n ; an d, mo st n o t a bl y, 
 
 fin es, for feit ures , and courts fees, -8% or $5 mil lion . 
A CLOSER LOO K AT SOME OTHER IMPORTANT COUNTY REVENUES 
 
Business Licenses 
 
$ 1 5 Hi l lion " " 
 
Carbage & Trash Cha rges 
 
$21 IH Uion 
 
- 
 
1.0% 1.4% 
 
Other Rev enues $85 Hil lio n 
 
f i n e s, Forfei ts , & Fee s $64 Hillion 
 
Change in Selected County General Revenues 1984 to 1985 
(Amounts and Percentages Rounded> 
 
To t a l General Revenues +$ 149 Mil lion 
+1 2. 3 :/: 
 
~~:evenue So ur"c e 
 
t'1 i 1 1 i on 
($) 
 
Loc al Opt i on Sal e s Ta x 
 
+30 
 
I ns ura nc e P re mi u ms Tax 
 
19 
 
Re al & Pe rso n a l Proper ty Tax 
 
17 
 
Stat e I nterg o ver nmenta l 
 
17 
 
In t er e s t Earn ing s 
 
12 
 
Fee Co l lect i o n s Co un t y Of fice r s -::- 
 
Bui l d inq Pe r mi ts 
 
..::. 
 
Re c e ip t s Sal e of Materials 
 
1 
 
Landfill Fees 
 
1 
 
Receipts Sale Rea l Property 
 
1 
 
Ambulance Charges 
 
1 
 
Rail road Equipment Charg es 
 
( (J ) 
 
Mobile Home Ta xes 
 
(I ) 
 
F ines, Forfeitures & Fees 
 
(5 ) 
 
+23 :/: 
208 
4 
9 34 27 .-_::r- 0..'.;:r- 
:::A 
26 73 ".::.'0 
- " c "'::'~I 
-1 '1 -8 
 
14 
 
 Utility Revenues 
Count y utilit y sy s te ms c an include water a n d s ew er systems ; ele c tric s y s t e ms ; n a tu ral g a s sy s te ms ; air p o rts; and t rans i t sys tems . 
A CLOSER LOOK AT COUNTY UTILITY REVENUES 
 
Ot h er Utilities __ 1 0% 
 
$15 Mill ion 
 
. 
 
~at er & S ewer $165 Million 
 
Utilit y s ystems are not the major source o f re ve n ues for countie s a s th~y are for municipaliti e s . The f ollowi ng chart outlines the n umber of count i e s repor ting rev enues fr om e ach o f the different t ypes of uti l i t i e s . 
 
Number of Utility Systems: FY 1985 
 
Utilit y 
 
Number Reportin g 
 
Water and Sewer 
 
~1 
 
Electric 
 
1 
 
Ga s 
 
1 
 
Airports 
 
14 
 
Public Transit 
 
6 
 
Utility revenues~ which are not part of g e n e r al revenues~ amount to 12Z of total county revenues~ a t o t a l of 5180 million in FY 1985. Water and sewe r s y s tems are the predominant count y utility~ accounting f or p roceed s of $165 million in t h e past ye a r~ 92 Z of a ll cou nty utility revenues. Othe r county utilities~ mo s t n ot a b l y electric systems ( $ 1 1 million) and airports ($ 3 million)~ totalled 515 million. 
 
Ove rall. county utility revenue s~ as summarized in th e following chart, increased by 26% or $37 million o ver the past y e a r . Th e p e rc ent a g e incr ease wa s the 
 
15 
 
 sa me a s that r eport ed from F Y 1 8 93 t o FY 1984. How - 
 
e v e r , o n e factor that s h o u l d b e considered is that th e 
 
one cou n ty electric syst em that was reported th is year 
 
was n o t r epor te d in a ny of t he pr eviou s ye ar s of th e 
 
L o c al Go ver nme n t Fi n a nc e Pro j e ct. Ga s sys t em rev enue s 
 
i nc reased b y 10 % and airp or t revenues increased b y 
 
22% . 
 
Al t houg h o n ly a s ma l l net c h a n ge (- $1 3, 0 00) 
 
tran si t s y st em rev e nues d e cr e a sed b y - 2 8%. 
 
Change in County Utility Revenues 1984 to 1985 
 
Total Utili t y Re v enu e s + -$3 7 "1i 1 1 i em 
 
Utility 
l\later and Se"lel~ El ect r i c Gas Ai r p o r ts Public Transit 
 
1'1i I I i on 
($ ) 
+25 11 
o 
1 
- - (> 
 
;. 18~<' 
(1 
10 27 -28 
 
COUNTY EXPENDITURES 
County e xp enditur es c o nsi s t o f general e xpendi tur es a n d utility e xp end itures. Debt s e r v i c e , the payment of both principa l and interest on borrowed money, is not consid ered as an e xpenditure for the purposes of thi s s e c t i o n of the report but is addressed in the Co u n ty Debt S e ction o f th i s chapter. 
COUNTY EXPENDITURES 
 
Public \lorks $44 Hillion 
Leisure Services $67 Hillion 
 
Other 
 
$45 Hillion 
 
Utilities 
 
\ 
 
Admlnls~ratlon 
 
$160 HUlion 
 
3 .1% 
 
$239 Hillion 
 
3 0% 
 
~---,+r---_ 
 
 16.3% 
 
7.0% 
 
:~~~l iIlI JIm~;;~~\)If1 TI1.[l l lIlI-l il p~U bl l 'l1YC 
Health/Human Services 
 
SaC ety 
 
$308 Hillion 
 
1.3% 
 
$284 Hillion 
 
High\Jays 
 
Housin g 
 
-------- $200 Hllllon 
 
$19 Hlll10n 
 
1b 
 
 Expen ditures for genera l p urpos es wer e 89% of to- 
 
ta l expenditures whi le uti lity ex pen d itures accoun ted 
 
for t he rem ain ing 11% . I n FY 19 8 4 gene ral expenditure s 
 
accounted for 9 1% of total e xpe n ditures . Ge n e r a l e x- 
 
p enditures t ota l led $1.308 billion, u p 13 % from $1 .1 5 7 
 
b ill ion in F Y 1984 . 
 
County uti l ity e xpenditures 
 
amount ed to $ 160 million, u p 36% from the FY 1984 l e v e l 
 
of $11 8 million . Utili t y e xpe nditures, in contr a st, 
 
decreased 12% in the period of FY 1983 to FY 1984 . 
 
GENERAL EXPENDITURES 
 
County s p e n d i n g c at e g or ies ex per ien ced numerou s in cr e a s e s in the past year . Publ i c safet y functions ':';"H-J i nc t-e i::\. Si?S; of 16 :1..; publi c I--J or- k s, :2 1 %; a dmin i. ~,.  tr ati on, 29% ; a n d l ei. sur e se rvices , 2 9% . 
 
Th e le ad in g expen d i t u re catego r i e s , whi ch will be exam i ne d in mor e detail in the f o l l o wi ng parag raphs , we r e hea lt h and huma n service s , to tallin g $ 3 0 8 mi l l ion or 2 1%; and public s afety a nd c o rrecti on s , t o t a lling $283 mi l lio n , tot a lling 1 9% of cou n t y ex pend it ures . 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT PUBLIC SAFETY; CORRECTIONS EXPENDITURES 
 
Fire Depa r t me n t $ 76 Hi U lo n 
She r i f f 's Dep ar tme n t $74 Hill10n 
Polic e Depa r tme nt $68 Hf Ll I on 
J ail $46 Hlllion 1.3% 
I 
Corr e ction al I nst ltu te $19 Hl11lon 
 
Spe nd ing for fire s ervi c es mo ve d ah ead of sp endin g 
 
for sher iff's departm en t s as t h e n u mb er one public 
 
safety 
 
e x p en d i t u r e i te m. Fir e d e p a rt me n t spending 
 
t otal le d a reported $ 7 6 mi l l i o n in FY 19 8 5 , or 5% o f 
 
total county s pending, an inc r e a se o f 19 % in t he y ear . 
 
A tota l o f 121 count ies r eport e d expend i t ures f o r f i r e 
 
d ep.::.rtm~~ nts . 
 
H cwJ(:? v el~ , t h e La rq e s t; 15 fi lre depal'-tmel,t~:; 
 
17 
 
 in terms of e x p enditures coul d claim 85X of t h e total 
 
e xp enditures for t he ite m wh il e t h e largest , De Kalb 
 
Count y, r e ported 19% of t he total expenditures for 
 
c o u nty fi r e dep artment s . 
 
Spending f or sh eriff' s 
 
departmen t s inc reased b y 9 % or $6 million. 
 
Ex p e n d i- 
 
tur e s for county p olice d ep artments t otall e d j ust o ver 
 
$68 million . 
 
Tot al l a w enforcement spendin g, s her i f f ' s and police departm ents , wa s 10% of coun ty spending, totall in g $ 1 42 mi l lion o r just over 50 % of p u b l i c sa f e ty s pen di n g. Exp end i tur es for jails, totallin g $ 4 6 mill i on in t he past y ear , increased 3 2 % over t he previ o u s ye a r from $35 mill ion, a burden imp osed b y cour t mandated j ail i mprove me nt s . Spe ndi ng for c o r r e c t io n a l in stitutes or coun t y work ca mps t ota l le d $19 mi llion or IX of total county s p e n d i n g . 
 
A CLOSER L OOK AT HEAL TH/HUMAN SERVICE EXPENDITURES 
 
Pu b lic lIelfare _ 1.2% 
-G~=======~~~~\~~~------ Ambulanc e Service 
$11 MU$2l8ionMUlion Public lIea lth $5 0 MU lio n 
Pa ymen ts Other lIo sp i t a l s $60 Mill io n 
State DIIR Crant s Expended 
$140 Mil lion 
 
The l arges t c o mp o n e n t s of health vices were physical and menta l h e al t h $ 140 mil lion; and pa y ments t o o th e r million . 
 
and human ser-gr-ants e x p e n d e d , 
hospitals, $ 6 0 
 
Ranking fourth among expenditure cat e go ries wa s spending fo r highways, roads and bridges . Expenditures for thi s item r each ed 5200 million in FY 1985~ an inc r e a s e of 12% from the previous yea r . Hi g h wa y s p e n d i n g amounts to 13% of tota l cou nty expenditure s . 
 
All additional genera l e xpendit ures amount to 16X of count y ex p e n d it ur e s , or $277 million. In clud ed a re 
 
18 
 
 sp endin g f o r c o urts ~ hou s ing a n d commun i t y de v elopm e n t~ le isure s er vi c e s~ p ubli c work s~ non - s chool boa rd edu c a t ion , a n d ot her mi s c ell an eou s ex pe n d i t u r es . 
 
Misce l l aneou s g e nera l expe n d i t ures a re actually 
 
a ttributab le to just a f e w c ount i es . 
 
These count ies 
 
a s sig n c ert a i n c o st s t o t h is c ategor y~ r a the r t han to 
 
s'f.)(;?c i fic . ci::,t:.e~folr iE~ ~5 ~ a c o n t i n ui n g p r o b I e m in t he a b - 
 
s e nc e of a s ta n d a r d local a c c o u n t i n g sys te m. 
 
Change in Selected County General Expenditures: 1984 to 1985 
 
Tot a l Gener al Exp endi tur es +~;155 l"li 11 ion + 1 :::::i: 
 
Ex p e n diture Ca t e gor y 
 
Milli on 
($ ) 
 
Percent 
 
Ge n e ral Ad mi n is t r a ti o n Gen eral Go ve r n me n t Buildings Hi ghway s~ S t re e t s a n d Drainag e Fi r e Dep al'-tm E.'n t J .::~ i 1 Garb a ge a n d Tr a sh Di sposal 
Li brat-i e ~:; 
P a yment s to other Ho spital s Police Dep artment Par k s and Recr eation Sheriff 's Dep a rtment Pu blic HE'3 1 t h Ga rbage a n d Trash Collection Communi t y Development 
 
+ $27 22 21 
1 "..::. 
11 
10 9 8 
8 7 
6 6 
-2 
- ~, ~:. 
 
-+5 8 
61 
12 1 '::;> 
..,. ,. ,,\ 
....:' ..::. 
90 46 16 13 
zo 
9 3 - 12 - 18 
 
Th e annu al survey of local government finances collects general ex p e n d i t u r e data by t y p e (lin e it em) as well as by e xpenditur e category. The th ree types o f e xpend it ures ar e c ur r e n t operations; capital p u rc h ase~ includ ing land, structures~ and major equi pm ent; and construction. 
 
Continuing a p attern highlighted in l ast y e a r' s O ver_,!:..ie\i~ sp endinq fot- c ur r errt ope rc\t ions deet- ea sed as a p ercen t of to t al spendin g to 89%~ dow n f r o m 92% i n F Y 1983. Cap it a l p u rch a se sp e n di ng r ose sli ghtl y t o 6 % o f t o ta l sp e n d i ng wh i l e construct ion sp ending~ prima r il y a non-r ecur-r i n g item, r-o se to 5% of t.otal e ;.: p end i t ur e s . 
 
19 
 
 County General Expenditures by Type 1984 and 1985 
 
-----------1984-- --------- -----------1985----------- 
 
Expenditure Type 
 
AllilJunt ($) 
 
Percent 
 
Aillount (l) 
 
Percent 
 
Current Operat ions Capital PurchasE Construction Total General Expenditures 
 
1,056,556 ,141 50,256,140 45,315,258 
1,15 2,127,539 
 
91.ti 
4.4i: 
3.n 
IO O.O~ 
 
1,165,5 16,683 73,220,163 68,659,360 
1,307,396,206 
 
89 .n 5.67. 5.31 100.0;: 
 
All expenditure t ypes inc reased from 1984 to 1985. Alth ough spending for current operations increased by 10%~ it was fa r outdistanced b y the increases in other c a t e g o ries . Cap i t a l purchase spending increa sed by $23 mi l l io n o r 46% over th e year and spending for constr ucti on i n c r eas e d by a like amount or 52% over the year. 
Change in County General Expenditures by Type: 1983 to 1984 
 
Ex p eri d i t u re Type 
Current Operations Capi tal Put-chase Con struction 
Tot al 
 
Amount ( -$ ) 
108~960~5lt2 22~964~023 23~344~102 
155~268~667 
 
Pet-cent 
10. 3i: 45.7i: 51.5i: 13.5i: 
 
Ut i l i t y Exp en ditu re s 
 
With reported expendit ures of $160 million in FY 1985~ county utilities amou nt to 11% of total county e xpenditures. Water and sewer systems account for the ma jority of the spending: $144 million. 
 
The 1984 Qv~:~vi ew showed that Ylater and SeWf?r sys- 
 
tem e xpenditur es had dropped steadily over the years 
 
sinc e 198 2 ~ decreasing from a l e v el of $144 million in 
 
198 2 to a level of $114 million in FY 1984. 
 
However~ 
 
t he p a s t y e a r , FY 1985~ saw a significant increase in 
 
the a rnou n t; of Yl ater a n d Seyler system e x p erid i tUl-es. 
 
From F Y 1984 to FY 1985~ s p e n d i n g inc reased by 27 % back 
 
tu the FY 1982 l evel of $144 milliun. 
 
2 () 
 
 A CLOSER LOOK AT COUNTY UTILITY EXPENDITURES 
 
u t. bc r County Ut t l Lt Lc s 
 
S16 MU llan 
 
- 
 
1.0% 
 
v a t c r 6. Seve r $ 144 Mlilion 
 
9 . 8% 
 
16.3% 
 
As t he followinq ch art sh o ws ~ the increase in s pe nd i n g f or c o u n t y wat e r and s e we r syst em s was present i n eac h li n e i t e m, bu t particu l arl y s o i n the purch a se of land an d e qui pmen t . Curr e nt o p er a tio n s expenditur es in crea sed b y 23 %. a n d c on s tru c t ion~ 29% . The purch a se of l and a n d eq uip ment~ how ev er ~ s a w an incre a s e of 50 % fr o m $ 12 mi l l ion t o $18 milli o n . 
 
Change in Water and Sewer Spending 1984 to 1985 
 
Jt en 
 
1984 
 
1985 
 
Z Change 
 
Current Operations Purchase Land, Eq uip~e nt Cons trueti on 
Total 
 
75,627,592 12,061,944 26,175 ,299 113,864 ,835 
 
92,760 ,841 18,047,877 33,673,189 144 ,481,907 
 
22.n 49.6% 28 .6! 26 .91 
 
Expenditures for airpo rts al so s aw a signific ant incr ease o v e r t h e y e ar. Expenditures more than doubled fl~om a level of '$ 2 . 8 million in FY 1984 to more than $6 mil lion in FY 1985 . Only one county reported e xpend it u r e s f or an electric system. As pointed out in the c o unt y utili t y rev enu e s e ction~ thi s system was not repor te d i n a ny of t he previous ye a r s o f the study~ ma k i n g a n y tr end a n a l ysi s i mp os si b le . Ex p e n d i t u r e s for count y p u b l i c transit s ys t e ms declined f r o m $23 2~OOO in FY 198 4 t o j us t ov e r $7 0~OOO in FY 1 9 85~ a small net c han ge i n th e o ve ra l l picture of count y utility spendinq. 
21 
 
 Change in County Utilit y Ex pen d i t u r es 1984 to 1985 
 
Total Utility Expenditur e s +$42 Million 
-tM :3 i.1 'X. 
 
Ut i l it y 
 
r-h 11 ion 
( 't ) 
 
vi a t E~ t'" an d Se l~J e r E l E~ c t l'- i c: ('ii I'-p c)rt r:;a S"> j='ub 1 i c: Tr"ansi t 
 
~: 1 
 
27 i: 
 
9 
 
10 0i: 
 
"-_::... 
 
1 1 1 :/: 
 
0 
 
0 1. 
 
0: 0 ) 
 
-70i: 
 
In summar-y, county utility e xpenditures increased b y 'p4- 2 rni 11 ion, an increase of 3 6 1., from F Y 1984 to FY 1 ~i8 5 .. 
 
COUNTY DEBT 
 
Georgia' s counties reported ending the fiscal year with out standing d ebt totalling $ 8 03 million. New debt of all types incurred during the fiscal year exceeded d ebt r etired: 5 321 million to $2 4 3 million. Interest c o s t s on debt reached $ 53 million. 
 
1'1i 11 ion 
($ ) 
 
Debt I ncul~red Debt F:et ired In terest Paid on Debt 
Debt Outstanding at End of FY 
 
$321 $243 
$5 3 
$80~: 
 
Short-term borrowing normally exceeds long-term debt a c t i v i t y for most governments, as highlighted in 1 ast; y,?at- ' s OVf?.rV.LeW. State 1 aw requi res that shortterm debt be retired within the calendar year that it is incurred. During the past year, short-term debt accounted for 5 6 % of all count y debt incurred, and 671. of a l l d ebt retired. Short-term borrowing amounted to $178 million with $162 million being retired . 
 
Counti es reported borrowing $91 million in revenue bond s and retiring 563 million while i ssuing $52 milli on in g eneral obligation bonds a n d retiring $18 million. 
 
22 
 
 OUTS TANDING DEBT AT END OF FISCAL YEAR 
 
Gen era l Obl l gatlo n $2 77 HlI lion 
 
Shor t -Te rm $70 HUllon 
8. 7% 
 
Rev enue Bond s $457 Hi ll i on 
At the end of t h e fisca l year ~ countie s re por te d $80 3 million i n outs t andi ng b on ded in debtedness , mo s t o f wh ich~ 5 7 % ~ wa s in the form of revenu e bonds . The r e la t i v e ly small am ount of outstanding short - term debt i s d u e t o coun t ies h avin g fi s cal years th at d o not mat ch th e c a l en d a r ye a r ~ r ather than of counties viol atin g t h e p rovi sion s of t he s t a t e constit ut ion d escribed ab o v e 
DEBT INCURRED DURING FISCAL YEAR 
Re v enue Bonds $90 HUllon 
 
Sbo r r -cre re $178 Hil lion 
 
Ce nera l Ob l l g a t i o n $52 HUlion 
 
Count ies reporte d issu i n g 514 3 mi llion in b o nd s 
 
du r i n g t he ye ar ~ much h i gh e r th an the S1 0 8 mill ion 
 
i 5 :::.UE'd d u r i IIC] F Y 19 8 4 ~ an i n c r-e a s e of :::::2:'-:. 
 
'-'Jat e r and 
 
sewer s ystem bor ro wi n g a ga i n a c cou nt ed f o r half o f a l l 
 
n e\.-J bo n de d d(~ bt : $7 4 mi 11 ion. 
 
Th (? c a t e q or v of " '::;.11 
 
ot h e l"" "- e 'l e n u e b ori d bO I~ t- o~"Jing d otrb Ieid of ,<o m $8 mi 11 io n 
 
in F Y 1984 to $16 million i n F Y 198 5. The o ther la rge 
 
a mo un t of bo r r o w i n g ~ $4 7 mi llio n ~ was in th e f orm of 
 
g en eral o bligatio n bonds f or count y jail s~ wh i c h in - 
 
cr ~ a se d 3 3 % o v er the fi sca l ye ar . 
 
Multi-purpo s e g en- 
 
.......:.:... 
 
-:.. 
",:. 
 
 County Bonded Indebtedness Incurred During FY 84 -85: Sig nific ant Items 
 
Purpo se of Debt 
 
Bon d Type 
 
Millions 
($ i 
 
Water/Sewer 
 
Revenue 
 
$74 
 
Jails 
 
6.0. 
 
47 
 
Al l Other 
 
Reven ue 
 
16 
 
Mult i-Purpose 
 
G.O. 
 
~, 
 
Park s and Recreati on 
 
Facili ti es 
 
6.0. 
 
Education (Gen . Gov t. ) G. O. 
 
All Additional 
 
Revenue ~ G.O . 
 
Perc ent of Total Bond Debt Incur r ed 
c, ~ 
.JJ..!. 
.) ~, 
11 2 
 
DEBT RETIRE D DU R I NG FIS CAL YEAR 
Revenue Boods $63 Hillion 
 
~~mnmmnmIDIDmmnmmmmIDITffimmmIDillITrnmmillIDillillIDIDmmill~IDWW~ceneraOl bligation 
 
Short. -Term 
 
$18 Hillion 
 
$162 Hillion 
 
Of th e $ 8 03 million in count y bond d ebt outstanding a t th e e n d o f t he y e a ~ ~ wate~ and sewe~ ~evenue bonds w e~e b y f a~ the majo~ity at $42 3 million or 5 8%. Gen e ~a l o b l ig ati o n bonds a c c o u n t e d fo~ most of the remainin g d ebt. Whil e revenue bonds a~e us ed for onl y a f ew it em s~ ge ne r a l obligation bond s are us ed fo~ a wid er var iety of uses . While borrowing for j ails acc ount c:d fo r- o n l y :; 3 0 mi 11 i on or 4 i : of th F.~ o u t s t a n d i n(.~ d ebt at the e n d o f FY 1 984~ b y th e e n d of FY 19 8 5 the cHr, o Lmt o f ge ner a l. ob 1 i gat ion bot-n::JvJ:L ng for j ai I s ha d inc~ ea s ed to $91 million o r 12% o f the total bond d ebt out 5 ta n di ng ~ a f u r t he r in dic ation o f th e burde n of 
24 
 
 c o urt-o rde re d i a il im p r ove ment projec t s. 
 
County Bonded Indebtedness Outstanding at End of FY84-85 Significant [te~s 
 
Purpose of Debt 
 
Bond Type 
 
Percen t of Tot al MiII ions Bond Debt ($ ) Outstanding 
 
Wa ter /Sewer Jai ls Multi-purpose Public Build ings All Other Education (6eneral Government) Highways, Streets and Drainage ill I Other All Additional Purposes 
Total 
 
Rev enue 
 
423 
 
G.O. 
 
91 
 
6.0. 
 
85 
 
G. O. 
 
32 
 
Revenue 
 
28 
 
6.0. 
 
19 
 
6.0 . 
 
16 
 
6. O. 
 
16 
 
Revenue &6.0. 23 
 
733 
 
57. n 
12.U 11. ]X 
4.3% 
3.8Z 2.5Z 2. 2Z 2.2X 
3.1% 
100.0X 
 
CASH AND INVESTMENT ASSETS 
At t he e n d o f the 19 8 5 fi s c a l ye a r ~ coun t i es r epo r t e d ca s h an d investmen t ass e t s o n hand o f 57 18 mil l ion , an in c r e a s e o f 2 2% over t he amou nt of $588 mi lli on r e po r t e d at t h e end o f t h e previ o us fisca l year. Th e major i t y o f t h e f u n ds , 59% o r $42 5 mill ion, were h eld i n t he c at e g o ry o f "other fund s. " S i nk i n g funds a ct o u n t e d for 12 % or $8 4 mi ll i o n, a n d b o nd fund s ac cou nted f or 2 9 % or $209 mi l li on . 
CASH AND INVESTMENT ASSETS HELD AT END OF FISCAL YEAR 
 
Sink ing Fund s $84 Hillion 
i t. 7% 
 
All Ot he r f und s $425 Hlllion 
 
Bo n d fu nds $209 Hlll10n 
 
 Change in County Cash and lnvest~ent Assets Held at End of Fiscal Year: FY 84-85 
 
Total Cash and [nvest~ents Held +$131 Million 
 
+22Z 
 
Millions 
 
Type 
 
(i ) 
 
Percent 
 
Held in Sinking Funds Held in Bond Funds Held in All Other Funds 
 
36.9Z 
 
89 
 
73.8Z 
 
19 
 
4.B Z 
 
Sinking f u n d s incr e ased by $ 2 3 milli on or 37 %; bond funds incr e ased b y $8 9 million and 7 4 %; and as s ets held in other fund s increased b y $1 9 milli on or 5%. 
 
26 
 
 MUN ICIPAL GOVERNMENT FINANCES 
The 49 1 mu ni cipa l i t i es in Ge o~gi a respo n di ng to th e 1985 loc al gove r nm e n t f i n an ce s u r v e y re po rted r a is i ng $ 2 .077 b il l i on d u ring th e f i sca l y e a r f r o m a l l r evenue sour ces . Sp e nd i ng f or al l purposes for o t h e r th an d eb t s e r v i c e wa s 5 1 .776 b i lli o n . Deb t i s su ed ex c eed e d deb t r etired b y $ 1 1 mil lion . Inter est paid on a l l munic ip al d ebt amo u nt e d t o 51 1 1 mi l l io n . 
Ov e r al l, t ota l mu n ic i p al re ven u e s in cr eased b y 8% f r om a b as e of $ 1 . 9 2 3 billi o n i n F Y 19 8 4 . To t a l e x p e n di tu r es inc r e a s ed b y 5% f ~om a FY 1 9 84 b a s e of $ 1 .69 0 b iL'lL cm . 
Flow of Munic ipal F inances 
 
00000 0000 
 
~ 0 General 
REVENUE S 
 
0 -045 B 
Q3 3 B '3'\ - 
 
0 
0 
 
Utility 
 
n0 
D 
 
Cenera l 
EXP ENDI TURE S 
Util it y 
 
The 0 1 d ada.ge of II th<:?r-e" s Pit I ant a a ll d th en ttH:?I-e " S 
 
Georqi.::I " i s C F~ I~ t:.::\i ll ly t r u e in i: he 2r e a o f mu n i ci pa l 
 
g o v ernmen t tI n ance . 
 
An e x am i n ation of Ge o r g i a's 
 
mu ni cipal g o v e r n me n t fin an c e s mu st take into ac c o u n t 
 
the domin anc e of the Ci ty of Atlant a's f i nan c es. At- 
 
l a n t a account s for 3 0 % of tota l munic ip a l government 
 
r e v e n u e s , 26% of ge lleral e xpenditu~es, a n d 2 1% of total 
 
ut ility revenu es. Fo ~ mo st items of both r evenue and 
 
e xpenditu~e, At l a n t a i s in t he rang e of 25% to 35% o f 
 
tot al mu nicipal a ctivity . 
 
MUNICIPAL REVENUES 
 
Municipal r e v e n u e consi sts o f two parts : gener al re venues a n d util ity re venues . Th e t wo a re e xamined s ep a ratel y b e c ause proceeds from u t i l i t y o p e~at i o n s ~ although a part of tot al municip al funds, a r e t ypicall y restricted to use within uti lity ope~ ations, and thus are unavai lable f o~ other fis c a l purposes. 
 
Du r i nq t h e past fiscal year, FY 1985 . ge ll e ral r ev enu e s amounted to $1 . 045 billion, or j u s t ove r 50~': 
 
27 
 
 of tot al cit y ~e venues~ whil e u t i l i t y p ~ o c e ed s t ot alled 
 
$ 1 . 033 billion. 
 
In FY 19 84~ qe ne ~ a l ~e venu es t o t a l l ed 
 
$ 98 0 million~ inc~ eas ing b y 7% to F Y 1 9 8 5. 
 
Utilit y 
 
~e v e n u es q~ ew at a rate o f lO X f~om a F Y 198 4 le vel of 
 
$ 9 43 milli on. The Cit y of Atl an ta a c c o u n t e d fo~ 3 0 % of 
 
muni cipal ge n era l ~ ev enue s a n d 2 1% of ut il i ty ~ e v enu es 
 
i n F Y 1 9 8::;_ 
 
MUNICIPAL REVENUES 
 
Other Revenues $241 Hillion 
 
Prop erty Ta x e s $1 99 Million 
 
Sa les , Excise, S pec i a l Use $331 Hillion 
 
15.9% 
 
"""lllllllllll!Il!IInnl!lnnl!lIDJ. IIIllIII   Wnn.]il l il-~I~ntergovernmental 
 
Utility Revenues 
 
$273 Hillion 
 
$1.033 Billion 
 
No 
 
single ~ e v e n u e sou~ce dominates municipal 
 
gene r al ~evenues. 
 
G ene~al ~evenues~ as stated~ ac - 
 
count ed for just ove~ 5 0% of total ~ e v enues. 
 
As l a st 
 
y e a ~' 5 O v e~vj e l.-l hi ghl i ghted ~ 
 
gene r-,:'I1 r-ev enu e s a~e 
 
declining as a pe~centage o f tot al ~e venues. 
 
In the 
 
l a st fou~ yea~s, acco~ding to ~ epo~ted data, gene~al 
 
revenues ha ve declined f~om 5 8% to 50 % of total 
 
rev enues. In the 1985 fiscal ye ar~ the la rgest c o n t ~ i  
 
buto~ to gene~al ~evenues was sales~ e xci s e~ and spe- 
 
cial use taxes~ which acc ounted f o ~ $ 331 million. 
 
Othe~ sou~ces of gene~ al ~evenues we~ e prop e r t y t a xes, 
 
$ 1 9 9 million; intergov e~nmantal revenue s , $273 million; 
 
and othe~ sources, such a s se~vice ch a~ges, $241 
 
million. 
 
Over the fiscal yea~, s a l es , exci se, and special 
 
use ta x e s increased by 15% f~om a le vel of $ 2 88 million 
 
in F Y 1984. S a l es , excise~ and s p e c i a l use ta xes a~e 
 
d e~ived f~om seve~al sou rce s with the local option 
 
s a l es ta x being th e prima~y sou~ce . 
 
Amounting t o $163 
 
million in FY 1985~ the local option sal e s tax in- 
 
c ~e a sed b y $ 35 million o~ 2 8 % in the yea r . 
 
Th e loc al 
 
option s ales ta x h a s p~o ven to be an e xtremel y f ast 
 
g ro wi ng sou~ c e of ~e venue f o ~ muncip al ities. 
 
From a 
 
I e v el of $ 88 mi 11 ion ill F Y 198 :::::~ the Lcic a l opti em s al es 
 
tax h a s g~own by 84% to t h e p~ e s ent level of $163 
 
mi 11 i on. 
 
r-luch of the i ncrt? ,3. ~: e c a n I::H2 a t t~ i buted to 
 
28 
 
 th e City of At la n ta . In 1 9 8 5 Fu l ton Co u n ty a nd Atl ant a b eg an co l lec ti n g t h e l o cal op ti o n s a les tax for th e fir s t tim e for an e n t i re ye a r. Atla n ta's l o cal opt ion sa les tax co l l ect io ns mor e th an d o ub le d f rom 5 19 mil l i on i. n F-Y 1 98 4 to "$ 39 mi 11 i 01"1 i n th e p a st ye':ll~ . 
A CLOSER LOOf< AT SALES, EXCISE, AND SPECIAL USE TAXES 
 
9.6% 
 
Loca l Opt i o n Sal e s Ta xe s $16 3 Million 
 
13.1% 
 
Fr an chise Paym ents $71 Million 
Alcoholic Beverage Taxes $53 Million 
1 ~ 6% _ Insurance Premiums Taxes 
$)) Million 
1%-, 
Other Sales, Excise, Special Use $11 Millim' 
 
Oth er s ales~ excise, and s pec ia l u s e ta x s o u rce s in c lude fr anchise payments, $7 1 million; a l c o ho l i c beve ra ge ~ $ 5 3 million; insu ran c e p r em ium s ~ 533 million; a nd hot el /motel tax, S 10 milli on. 
A CLOSER LOOK AT PROPERTY TAXES 
 
Real 6. Personal Sl73 Million 
 
Hacor vcb Ic l e Tax es ~ $ 11 Million 
 
0 .51 
 
12. _ All Ot h e r Pr o perty Taxes SI 6 Million 
 
29 
 
 P~ope~ty taxes a~e the numbe~ two sou~ce of 
 
muri i c i p a l gene~a.l r e v ervu e ss , amounting to ~Jj; 1 9 9 million 
 
o~ 10% of gene~al revenues in F Y 1 985. By fa~ the most 
 
dominant property tax is the ~eal and pe~ sonal propert y 
 
t a x to talling $173 million o~ 8 % of t otal municipal 
 
re venu es. 
 
Real and pe~ 50nal p~operty t axe s showed a 
 
s i g n i f i c a n t decline f~om th e past yea~~ losing a r e- 
 
po~ted $27 million o~ 13% f~om the FY 1 984 amount of 
 
$ 200 million. 
 
Much of this loss c a n pe~haps be at- 
 
tributed to the rollbacks f~ofTl the imposit ion of the 
 
l ocal option sales tax. 
 
The decline in real and pe~ 
 
semal pl-opel~ty ta:-: was the lC:\I~ge=.t decline in a n'! 
 
s i n g le municipal revenue sou~ce fo~ the past fiscal 
 
y e a r . Most of the net change can be traced to the 
 
a mo u n t s ~epo~ted by the Cit y of Atlant a. 
 
In FY 1984 
 
Atlant a repo~ted collections of $84 million in real and 
 
pe~ sonal prope~ty tax collections. 
 
In the last yea~, 
 
FY 1 985, Atlanta repo~ted collections of $60 million, a 
 
dec~ea s e of $ 24 million. 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES 
 
11.6% 
 
15.9% 
Federal $l9) Hll110n 
State %65 HiLllon <, 0.7% 
-......... Local %15 H1Lllon 
 
In te~gove~nmental revenues cont~ibuted $273 mil- 
 
lion to municipal revenues in FY 1985, up 23% over the 
 
$2 2 3 million repo~ted in the p~evious yea~. 
 
Fede~al 
 
fund s account fo~ about 70% of the inte~gove~nmental 
 
dollar with state funds accounting for another 24% and 
 
local funds accounting for the ~emaining 6%. 
 
Fede~al 
 
fund s increased by 17% over FY 1984 from $165 million, 
 
~e versinq a trend that had begun in 1983. 
 
State funds 
 
increased at a rate of 35% to a level of $65 million 
 
from c!. level of $48 million in the p r e v i ou s v e ar". Lo- 
 
c a l i ntergovet-nment. i:\l f u n d s i nct-easf?d at an even 
 
30 
 
 gre at e r rat e~ 58 %~ from ju st u n de r $10 mi l l i on to milli on in FY 1 985. The Ci ty of At l a n t a a c c o u n te d 33 % o f a l l i n t e r g o v e r n me n t a l re venue s, r e ceiv i n g mill i on in f ed e ral intergovernmental fund s a l o n e . 
 
'id S f o r- 
~i74 
 
Th e l ar g e st categ ori c al in t ergovernmen t al revenue s r e po r t e d b y municip alities were fede r al wat er a n d was t ew a t er g r a n ts ~ $70 mi l l ion; fed eral r e ve nu e s h a r i n g funds~ $ 4 3 million; f ederal communi t y de vel opm ent bl ock g ra nts , "$ 3 9 million ; and s t a t e communit y d ev elopment b l o c k q l-a n t ~" . '$ 1 8 million. 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME OTHER IMPORTANT MUNICIPAL REVENUES 
 
fin es. f orfeits. fees $37 HUllon "- 
 
Interest Earnings $4 ) HUllon ___ 
 
1.8% 
 
 
 
2 .1% 
 
Business Lic enses .:': 2.1% 
 
$44 Hilllon 
 
Ga r ba ge & Trash Collection 
 
$55 Hilllon 
 
All Other Revenues $106 Hl1110n 
 
15.9% 
 
Other revenue sources that contribute notabl y to muni cipal revenues includ e use of money and property, $ 5 2 milli on~including $43 million from interest earnings on investments; licenses and permits~ $61 million; s e t'-'1 ic lo= chcwg e s, $91 million; and fines~ forfeitures a n d fe e s , $37 million. Atlanta accounts f or 41 % of use of mone y an d propert y revenues; 36% of licenses and p ermi t s; 34 % of revenues from ser v ice ch arges ; and 18% fr om fi n e s, fe e s a n d forfeiture s. 
 
 Chang e in Sel ec ted Municipal General Revenues 1984 to 1985 
(Hlounts and Percentages Rounded) Tot al General Revenues 
 
Total General Revenues +$65 Hillion +71. 
 
REvenue Source 
 
Million 
($ ) 
 
Percent 
 
Local Option Sales Ta ~ 
 
;~}".J 
 
28: 
 
Federal Intergovernfental 
 
28 
 
171. 
 
State Intergover nm en tal 
 
17 
 
35l 
 
Local Intergovernmental 
 
6 
 
587- 
 
All Additional Revenues 
 
".J 
 
451 
 
Fines, Forfeitures and Courts Fees 
 
3 
 
10i: 
 
Building Permits 
 
2 
 
261 
 
Kobile Hoae Taxes 
 
(I 
 
In 
 
Receipts Sale of Mat erials, Equipeent (0) 
 
- 15t 
 
Landfi ll Fees 
 
(ll 
 
-29: 
 
Special Assessments 
 
(I) 
 
-26l 
 
Other Service Charges 
 
(2i 
 
-2n 
 
Receipt s Sale of Real Property 
 
(3) 
 
-50l 
 
ParKing Facilit ies and Heters 
 
(12 i 
 
-8n 
 
Interest Earning s 
 
( ]4) 
 
-25l 
 
Real and Personal Property Taxes 
 
(27) 
 
-13l 
 
Ut i l i t y Revenu es 
 
Mu ni cipal utilit y s y s t e ms can i nc l u d e w at e ~ a n d sew er syste ms. elect~ic s y ste ms. n a tu~al g as s ystems. a i~ ports . a n d public t ~ansit sy stems . 
 
Utility s y s t e ms are a much mo~e impo~tant sou~ce 
 
of ~ evenues fo~ municipalities than fo~ counties. 
 
Util i t i es c o n t ~ i b u t e d 12% o f tota l cou nty ~evenues in 
 
FY 19 85. 
 
Fo~ municipalities. howeve~. that pe~centage 
 
amoun ts to j ust un de~ 5 0 % of total ~evenues. 
 
Utility 
 
~e v enu e s h av e increa se d as a pe~centage of total 
 
re ve n ues f~om 42% in FY 1982. 
 
The~ e is a g~ e ate ~ va~iety o f mun icipal u t i l ity ~. y~:;t e m s t h a n count y ut i l i t y sys t e ms a s sum ma~ ized in t he f o l l o ..lin g c ha r- t. . 
 
-:0 - " " 
-':' L 
 
 Number of Utility Systems: FY 1985 
 
Ut i l it y 
 
I\lumbel~ 
Re por t i ng 
 
vJ at e r a n d Se we r Electr ic 
G a.s " 
?h t- p m . t Pub l i c Tran s i t 
 
420 51 8 :3 17 
6 
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT UTILITY REVENUES 
 
Publtc Translt_ 0 .2%_ $4 HUlton 
Alc-poc[ $120 Hllllon 
 
Ca s $24 7 Hillion 
 
15.9% 
 
El e c tric $J2) Hil l i o n 
 
16.3% 
\later & SC\Je r $))8 Hlll10n 
 
Water a n d sewer sy stem revenues j u mp e d back ahead of electric rev enues as the number one utiltiy revenue for mun icipalites. Over the year, water and sewer re ven ue s gr ew 17Z, gaining $48 million over the previous y e a r . El e c t r ic reven ue s gained 8% or $ 24 milli on ; g as s y s tems , 5% or $1 2 milli o n; airports~ 7% or 57 mi l l i o n ; a n d t r a ns i t s y st e ms, a los s of $3 mi l l io n 
o r " - :~~ O f.. 
Th e Ci ty o f At lan t a repor t s r e ven u e s for wat er and s e we r s yst em s and ai r por t s . Atl ant a c a n claim 3 1% of t h e t o t a l mun i ci p al water and s e we r s y s te m revenues and 93% o f t he a i r p o r t revenues . 
~I ..:. 
 
 Change in Municipal Utility Revenues 1984 to 1985 
 
Total Utility Revenues +'i; 107 t1i ll ion 
+ 12i: 
 
Ut ilit y 
 
Jli 11 i ons 
(-:$; ) 
 
Percen t 
 
l'J a t ei- a n d S e l-H:?I- 
 
50 
 
E lf:?c t l- i c 
 
2".j. 
 
Air port 
 
.- . " ...::',L 
 
1 7 1. 
 
S 
 
/ 
/. 
 
T:'1. 
 
Ga.s 
 
11 
 
51. 
 
Public Tr a ns it 
 
(2 ) 
 
- 30 i: 
 
Last y e a.I- ' 5 QVi?.c~.i.~~~ hi ghl ighted the importance o f mun i cipal utility r e v enu es b y showing that the revenues of water a n d s e we r , e lec tri c a n d g as systems each e xceeded t h e r evenues f r o m th e top three sources o f municipal genera l revenues : r eal a n d personal property tax e s ~ f ed e ral tran s f er s , a n d l ocal option sales t axes. Th i s p a s t yea r s h ow e d th at r evenues from the thr ee ut ility s y st ems i n crea sed t he i r importance b y sho wi n g l a r ge r p e r c en t a g e inc reases th an d i d the three t op general r evenue s ources . 
 
MUNICIPAL EXPENDITURES 
 
Mu ni c ip al e xpend itur es consis t of general e xpenditur e s a n d u t i l i t y ex pe n di t u r es . Debt service. the payme p t of b oth principal and interest on borrowed money, I S not c o ns i d e red as a n ex pen d i t u re for the purpose of thi s section o f t h e report but is addressed in the Muni cipal Debt S ection o f thi s chapter. 
 
MUNI CIP AL E XPEND ITUR ES 
 
Mis cell aneous $ 58 Hilllon " - 3.3% 
Utilltie s $898 Hl1llo 
 
Adminlstration $206 Hillion 
 
0. 61 
/ 
Educ a t i on 
$ ll Hl1ll on 
 
Courts 
 
/ $6 HillioD 
 
0.41 
 
--S 0 . 61 
 
Health 1l Hillion 
 
Public \larks $171 Ml1llon 
 
3 .51",Housing!Community Development 
 
3 .81 
 
$62 Hl1110D 
 
\ 
 
Leisure Services 
 
$67 Hillion 
 
34 
 
 The 491 mu n i c i p a l go vernment s repor te d ge nera l ex penditures of $ 87 8 mi llion in FY 1 9 8 5, less t h a n the $89 7 mi l lion reported in u tility e xpe n ditures. the first y ea r of the Local Go v ernment F i nance Projec t in which utilit y e xp e nd itur e s exc e eded gener a l expenditur e s. 
Tota l municip a l expenditures amounted to $1 .776 bil lion, a n increa se of 5 % o v e r the FY 1984 leve l of $1 .690 bill ion . 
Ge ner al E xpend i tures 
Municipal general e xp enditures f o r t he y ear we r e $878 mil lion , a s l ig h t increase of less t han 1% over the previous year . The Cit y of At lan ta"s share of general e x p e n d i t u r e s amou nted to 26% . 
The l a r g e s t category of genera l ex p e ndi t ur es was pu b lic safety an d correc~lon5 , $287 mi l li on, 1 6 % of general expenditures . Inc luded i n p ub l ic safety s pen ding are ex penditures for po lice, fire , and jail operatio ns . Publ ic s a f e ty spending showed a 6% increase over F Y 19 8 4 l evel s. 
A CLOSER LOO K AT PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS EXPENDITURES 
Pol lce $ 175 Mil l i on 
Fire $98 Mi lli on 
J ail 0.7 %-- $ 1) Mi l lio n 
At lanta can c laim 2 4 % of public safety sp e n d i n g, 37% o f admin sit ration. 36% of ho using a nd co mmu nity de v e lopment , a n d 50% of the spending fo r munici pa l cour t s . 
Expenditures for municipal administra t ion a mounted 
 
 to a r eported 5206 million~ 1 2 % of tot al spending~ and 
 
an inc r ease of 15% ov er FY 1 9 84. 
 
Other significant 
 
gen er al expenditure ca t e gori es included publi c works~ 
 
at S171 million; lei sur e servi c es ~ $67 million; housing 
 
and community development~ $ 62 million; and the mi s- 
 
cell iHleou=:, "o t h er" ~'Ihi.ch c'.lmo u n te d to $ 58 million. Thi s 
 
s ee mi ng ly l arg e a mou n t o f s pe nd i ng in the mi scell aneou s 
 
categol'''y .i s not unu su al ;:'IS c1.cc o u n t i ng p r e c t i ce s in some 
 
j u r i s dic t i o ns ma kes it d i ffi.cu l t if n o t impos sible t o 
 
mesh local account in g pract ic e s with l ine items on th e 
 
fina n c e s u r vey _ 
 
Change in Selected Hunicipal 6eneral Expenditures: 1984 to 1985 
 
Total General Expendi tures +$4 l1illion 
tn 
 
Expenditure Category 
 
Millions 
 
($ ) 
 
Percent 
 
General AdBinistration 
 
50 
 
1521. 
 
Fire Deparhent 
 
9 
 
101 
 
Parks and Recreation 
 
5 
 
91 
 
Effiployee Benefits 
 
4 
 
67- 
 
Jail 
 
.j 
 
3H 
 
Police Department 
 
3 
 
2I 
 
Garbage and Trash Disposal 
 
'J 
L 
 
251 
 
6eneral 60vernaent Bu ild ings 
 
2 
 
181 
 
Municipal Court 
 
2 
 
391 
 
Ambulance Service 
 
I 
 
349: 
 
Parking Facilities and Meters 
 
0 
 
6S1 
 
Education 
 
(4) 
 
-261 
 
Li br'ar i es 
 
(4 ) 
 
-561 
 
Public Welfare and Social Services (51 
 
-491 
 
Financial Ad~inistration 
 
(30) 
 
-S7I 
 
Other Expenditures 
 
(33) 
 
-361 
 
Notable c h an g e s in line item categories~ as hiqh- 
 
lighted in th e preced ing c h art ~ include general ad- 
 
ministration~ up 15 2 %; f i r e departments~ up 10% or 5 9 
 
million; jails~ up 3 4 %; a n d a mbulance services~ up 
 
~S 4 9 ~': ~ though le ss th an a $1 million inC:l~ease. 
 
Those 
 
line items showing a n otable dec rease include education 
 
and libraries~ each down 54 million; financial adminis- 
 
tration~ down 5 30 mill i on; a n d o t h e r ex p e n d i t u r e s ~ down 
 
36%. Some of these ch anges wi t h i n line items may b e 
 
due to a refineme nt of t h e sur vey in strument which was 
 
a c c o mp li s h e d for th i s y e a r ' s s u r ve y. 
 
 The annual survey of local g o v ernment finan ces collects general e xp endit ure data by type ( lin e it em) a s well as by e x pen d iture c a tegory . The t hree typ e s of e xpenditures a r e cur ren t o p e ra t i o ns ; c api tal purch ase~ incl udi ng l a n d~ s t r u c t u res , a n d ma jo r equipm ent; a n d CDnstl'uc t io n . 
Only c ap i t al pu rch a s e s inc r e a s e d f r o m F Y 1984 to FY 1985~ s howing a ga i n o f 22% from $ 42 million to $ 5 1 mi l lio n . . Curren t op er a tion s de c l i n ed by less t ha n 1 % ($ 1 mi llion) an d con str u ction dec l i n e d from 550 mi l lion t.o $ 4 7 million . 
 
Cha nge i n Municipal General Expenditures by Type: 1984 to 1985 
 
E:: pend i tLwe T yp e 
 
(j mo u nt ( .$ ) 
 
Percent 
 
Cu r r e nt Operation s Cap i ta l P urcha se Co nstructio n 
Total 
 
(1,2 19.856) 
9 ~ 026 ~ 32 1 
c:::: ~ 8 3 8 ~ 896) 
:3 ~ 9 67 !, 569 
 
- O. 2 i:. 2 1. 5 1. - 7. 7 i:. 
O . 5~1. 
 
Hun icipal Genera l Expen di t ures by Type 1984 and 1985 
 
Expend iture Type 
Curren t Operations Cap ital Purchase Constr ucti on 
Total General Expend it ures 
 
-- -- --- ---- 1984----------- ----------- 1985------ -- --- 
 
Ailiount is} 
 
Pe rcent 
 
Aillount ($) 
 
Percent 
 
782,454,545 41,902,095 50 , 138,995 874,495,635 
 
89. 5% 4. 8Z 
C .... 
.J. J ~ 
100 ;0% 
 
781,234,689 50,928,41 6 46, 300,099 878 ,463, 204 
 
88. 9! 5.8% 5. 3% 100.0! 
 
Th e t abl e s s h o w t hat capital p urc hase s pen di ng incre a s ed a s a p erce n t a g e of g eneral ex pendi tures to 6i:. d u r i n g the y ear while current o perations an d constr u ction expenditur es declined sli g htl y. 
 
Ut ility E xpendit ures 
 
With spending am ountinq d epreciati on a nd i nt erest u t ility e xpen di t ures accoun t municipal ex penditures . 
 
t o $897 million~ e xcluding paid on d e b t , munic i p a l f oriust o v er 501. of to t a l 
 
 A CLOSER LOOf< AT MUNICIPAL UTILITY EXPENDITURES 
 
rub lie Tran s It $9 Million - 
Alrpoce $91 M(lllon 
 
0 . 5% 
 
Ca. $2 12 Million 
 
Elcctdc $211 Million 
 
17. 7:t 
 
\.lat er Ii S ever $ 31 5 MlllLon 
 
Water and sewer s y st e ms ac cou n t f o r $ 3 15 million or 35% of all utilit y s p e n d i ng . Th e Ci ty of Atlant a a c cou n t s for 30% or $ 95 million of t h e spending for municipal water and s e we r syste ms . Ex p e n d i t u r e s for electric systems amount ed t o $ 2 7 1 mi l l i o n and spending for gas systems amounted to $2 1 1 milli on. 
 
Municipal airport s p e n di n g t otall ed $9 1 million 
 
with 89% ($82 million ) being r ep orted by the City of 
 
Atlanta. 
 
Transit expenditu re s a mo u n t to onl y $9 mil- 
 
l ion. 
 
38 
 
 Change in ~unicipa l Ut i l ity Expend itures 1984 to 1985 
 
Total Utility Expenditures +$1 29 Million +15Z 
 
Utilit y 
 
Millions ($) Percent 
 
Airport Water and Sewer Electric Gas Public Transi t 
 
67 
 
94. 8i. 
 
46 
 
15.6Z 
 
14 
 
I 
 
O. 6Z 
 
I 
 
IO.8Z 
 
MUNICIPAL DEBT 
Municipaliti e s incu r red n e w de bt of over $ 125 mil lion d u r i n g th e p a s t f isc a l yea r , mo r e t h a n t h e $ 1 14 mill ion in ol d deb t tha t wa s ret ir ed . I nte rest paid o n de b t during the y ea r am ounted t o 511 1 mi lli o n . At the clo se of the yea r, mu ni c ipali ties c o u l d rep o rt outs t a n d i n g d ebt of $1 .674 bi ll ion. 
 
Municipal Debt Summary: FY 1984-1985 
 
r'1i 11 i o ns 
($ ) 
 
Deb t IncLlt- red Debt F:et i r e d Intere st on De b t Debt Outst andin g at En d 
 
$ 125 
11 1.1- 
111 1,674 
 
Last ye ar- ' s pvec.y.J..e w. hi gh 1 i gh t ed t h e i mpa c t; o f th e 
 
City of Atlanta' s debt st atus on th e overall munici p al 
 
debt picture. Although Atlan t a a g a i n domin ates th e 
 
overall municipal debt pictur e , it d oes not quite h a ve 
 
th e overwhelming do min anc e t hat it h el d a t t h e end of 
 
last year. 
 
During t h e past f i s c al y ea r At l an t a b o r- 
 
rowed $8 mi l l i o n and en d e d t h e y ea r wi t h o ut standi ng 
 
deb t of $99 1 millio n. Atlant a's bo rr ow ing acc o u n ted 
 
for only 6% of the debt in cu r r e d durin g th e year but a t 
 
the end of the year Atl ant a could c la im 59% o f t h e o ut - 
 
standing municipal debt in th e s t a t e . 
 
As in last ye ar' s repo r t ~ th e b al ance of thi s se c tion will e xamine debt in f o r ma t ion for the the 490 muni cipalities e xcl u din g At l a n t a in o r d er t o provi d e a mor e precise view of the municipa l de bt p icture in t he stcd:e . 
. .-.::-'. ,, 
 
 Munic ipal Debt - All Municipalit ies Other Than Atlanta 
The balance o f th e r ep orting municip alities ended th e f i sca l yea r with o u ts tan di n g lo ng - t e r m and s h o rtt e r m deb~ of 568 3 million. New debt incurr ed ex ce e de d d ebt retired by 5 38 milI i on~ down from $50 milli on in the previous y e a r. Intere st paid on d ebt amounted to a r eporte d $44 mill i on. 
 
Municipal Debt Summary: FY 1984-1985 (Excl ud e s Cit y of At l a n ta Da t a ) 
 
I'li II i o n 
($) 
 
Debt Incun-e d De b t F:eti re d In t e r e s t Pa id o n Deb t De b t Outs ta n ding at En d 
 
5 1 17 
79 
44 
6 8 :::; 
 
OUTSTANDING DEBT AT END OF FISCAL YEAR <Exclude s City of At l a n t a Data) 
 
Gene ra l Obl igation $115 Million 
 
1 1%_ Sho rt-Term 
 
. 
 
$ 7 Hi ll ion 
 
82.1% 
Revenue Bo nd $56 1 Hil lio n 
 
Th e ma j o r i t y of the muni c i p al d e bt ac tivi ty is i n 
 
t he fo rm o f r e v enue b onds, whic h at t h e end of th e fis - 
 
ca l y ear a cco u nted f or 8 2 % o f the outstanding d ebt. 
 
Muni ci pa li tie s o t h e r "t h a n At lanta in curred $84 million 
 
in revenue bon d s during the past y ear and retired 555 
 
milli on . 
 
At the e nd of the year~ the 490 munic i- 
 
palities could report 5561 million i n o u t s t a n d i n q 
 
reven ue bond deb t , an i ncrea se of less than 1% in the 
 
year . 
 
40 
 
 Outst anding gene~al obligati on b o n d d e b t to ta lled $ 1 15 million at the e nd o f t he y ea ~ with $14 million in new G.D. de bt incu rred du ri ng th e y e a r and $ 10 mi lli on r etired . The amou nt of  qen eral obligation d ebt d ec r e a s e d by a repor ted 9 % o v e r t h e ye a r . 
DEBT INCURRED DURING THE YEAR ( E x c l u des City o f At la n ta Data ) 
Shor t - Term $19 Million 
15. 8% 
 
72. 0% 
Revenue Bond $84 Million 
 
A~ in t he p r e v io u s yea r, bo rro wing i n FY 19 8 5 for 
 
water and sewer syst e ms d omi nated municipal long-term 
 
debt activity i n F Y 1985 . Water a nd sewe r revenue 
 
bond s a ccounted for 68% of the total mun icipal debt 
 
i nc u r r e d , for ci ties other than Atlanta . General obli- 
 
g ation borr owing for wa t e r and sewer s ystems accounted 
 
f or a n additiona l $2 mil lion or 2% of total d ebt in- 
 
curred . 
 
The mi scell aneous "<.d I other" t-E' ven U-? b ond 
 
categ ory accou n ted f or 515 million; e d u c a t ion for non - 
 
school b o a r d pur p o s e s accounted for 56 mill ion; and 
 
h igh ways , st ~ee ts and d r a i n a g e acco unted for $3 mi l - 
 
l io n. Ov e r all, Georgia 's municipa lities inc urred in - 
 
curr ed l o n q - t e r m deb t of $99 millio n i n FY 198 5 . Lo n q - 
 
term debt i nc ludes revenue bond and general obl igation 
 
bond debt . It does not include s h o r t - t e r m debt of l e s s 
 
t: h an 011 e y e a r" . 
 
41 
 
 MUNICIPAL BONDED INDEBTEDNESS INCURRED: FY 19 84 TO 1985 
SIGNI F I CANT ITEMS 
(Ex clud e s Ci t v of Atlanta Data l 
 
Purpose 
 
Bond Type 
 
Percent of Incurred Tot al Bond Debt Million 0) Incurred 
 
Water &Sewer 
 
Revenu e 
 
67 
 
All Other 
 
Rev en ue 
 
15 
 
Educ at ion (Gen. Govt.) 
 
6. 0. 
 
6 
 
Highways, St reet s, Drainag e 
 
6.0 . 
 
3 
 
Wat er ~ Sewer 
 
6.0 . 
 
2 
 
Gas Utility Syste~ 
 
Revenue 
 
2 
 
Public Buildi ngs 
 
6. 0. 
 
Parks &Recreat ion Fac ilit ies G.O. 
 
I 
 
Tot al Ail Ot her 
 
Revenue 1< 6. 0. 
 
I 
 
67 .a ~ 
 
15. 61. 
 
6.31 
 
t;I 1 ~ . 
L. 
 
'L>. 'L>1.. 
 
2.0 1. 
 
I. 51 
 
I 
 
. 
 
~ .. 
jk 
 
O.6X 
 
DEBT RETI RED DURING FISCAL YEAR ( Ex cl u d es Ci ty of At lant a Data) 
Sho r t - Te rm $ l~ HUlton 
Cenera l Obl igat ion $ 10 HU lton 
 
69 .9% 
 
Revenu e Bond $55 Hillto n 
 
Mu n i c i p a l utility s ys t e ms accou nt for 8 1% of t he 
 
b on d e d ind e b t ednes s that wa s o ut stan di ng at th e e n d of 
 
FY 1 9 8 5~ fo r ci ties o t he r th an At l anta . Water and 
 
sewer s ys t e ms ac c oun te d fo r 6 2% or $416 million, e l ec - 
 
tri c s y s t P ID =; ac cClu nt('2 d F or $ 122 mi llion or 1 8 %~ an d 
 
ga s s y s tem s ac c o unt e d f o r $ 7 mi l l i o n or 1%. 
 
Oth er 
 
l clr q e d eb t c a te c:j or-i F~ ~, i ric l u de the mi s c e ll C\ n e o u s "a ll 
 
ot h e r" r ev e rru e bon d s ~ qe n e t- a l q o v e rnrne n t; e d uc at i o n ~ a nd 
 
h i g h wa y s. s t r e e t s a n d dr a i nage . To t al municipal debt 
 
o u t st andi n g at th e e n d of the y e a r , e x c l u d inq th at 
 
rep o r t e d b y t he Cit y of At l ant a , equal ed $67 6 milli on . 
 
42 
 
 The 
 
C"l rTI ou n 't 
 
out st andi n g 
 
d e c r e a s ed 
 
by 
 
s l i g h t ly over 
 
1 
 
"/ 
!. 
 
f r-o m F Y 19:::14 t o FY 1 985 f ro m $ 6 8 5 mi ll i on. 
 
MUNICIPAL BONDED INDEBTEDNESS OUTSTANDING AT END OF FY 1985 SIGNIFICANT ITEMS 
( Exc l u des City o f Atlan ta Dat a l 
 
Purpose 
 
Bond Type 
 
Percent of Outstanding Total Bond Debt Million ($) Outstanding 
 
Water &Sewer 
 
REvenue 
 
395 
 
Electric Utility Systeffi 
 
Revenue 
 
I"1.'i.". 
 
Education (Gen. So'~t . ) 
 
G.O. 
 
31 
 
All Other 
 
Re venue 
 
26 
 
Highways, Streets, Drainage 
 
6.0. 
 
".1..'1 
 
Water .It Sewer Multi-Purpose 
 
G.O. 
 
21 
 
6.0. 
 
is 
 
Public Buildings 
 
6.0. 
 
12 
 
Sas Utility System 
 
F:evenue 
 
7 
 
Total All Other 
 
Revenue and G. O. 
 
33 
 
58.41. 
IB.O:' 4.64 3.9i: 3.64 3.n 2.2l l. 87. l.OX 3.5X 
 
CASH AND INVESTMENT ASSETS 
 
At the e n d of t he f iscal ye ar ~ Georgia's munici- 
 
palities repor ted ca sh a n d in v e s t ment a s s e t s on hand o f 
 
$1. 26 8 billion~ a n in cr e a s e o f 1 2 % ov er the $1.13 7 bil- 
 
lion report ed at th e end of th e previous fiscal year. 
 
Again ~ the influen ce o f th e City of Atlanta must be 
 
considered. 
 
Atl anta repor t ed c a s h and investment as- 
 
set s totalling $ 569 milli on, 4 5 % of the total re - 
 
p a r- t e d . 
 
Over"all, th (2 rnaj DI'-it '~,1 of t h e f uri d a , 62:1. 01'- 
 
$7t37 in i l l i on w e n:~ IH? J. d i n th ,? c:a t e(;)or-y of "othel~ 
 
funds". 
 
Sinkinl,::j funds ,,~ c c o u n t e d + O l~ $ ~)44 mi Ll ton or 
 
27% a n d bond fund s a ccou n te d f o r $1 3 7 million or 11%. 
 
Change in Municipal Cash and lnvest.ent Assets Held at End of Fiscal Year : FY 84 -85 
 
Total lnves t~ents Hel d +,1 31 Million 
+In 
 
Type 
 
Millions (~ l 
 
Percent 
 
Held in Sinking Funds Held in Bond Funds Held in All Other Funds 
 
33 
 
12. 31 
 
(16) 
 
-10.27. 
 
109 
 
16.1l 
 
 MUNICI PAL CA SH AND INVESTMENT ASSETS CAll Municip aliti e s ) 
S Lnk Lng Fund s $ ) 44 Hllllon 
27.n 
 
All Ot he r Funds $78 7 Hillion 
 
Bond Fund s $137 Hillion 
 
Th e Ci t y o f At lant a ac count s for 6 1% o f the sin k- 
 
ing funds , 4 2 % of the bond fund s . and 38% of the 
 
"o the l- II f u n c:Js.. 
 
Atla.nta ' s pattel~n of holdings- i ss 
 
slightly dif f er ent from the municipa l p icture as a 
 
whole. At la nt a main tained a larger per centage of f und s 
 
in s i n k i n g fu n ds , 3 7% as oppo sed to 2 7 Z , and a l o we r 
 
per cen -tage in "othel"-" funds, 5 ::::;i: to 6 :2%. The pet-cent- 
 
age held in b ond f u n d s was ver y c l ose: 10% to 11Z. 
 
44 
 
 (iF'PEN DI X j:\: DAT A [:{H EG OF: I ES 
Appen d i x A i s a l i s t o f ~e venue~ ex pe n di tu~e ~ d e b t and as s e t item s ~equested of lo cal gove~nments b y the DCPi f in ,~, n c i c3. 1 stu.dy. In e+f .?c t ~, r:\p P'2n d i ;-: (\ is <"" "ske IE'rori ' of t. h .=.-;t SU t-Vf?V , f ~ (J :r: \'Ihi c h thE~ d d t .::! i n t.his 1-e po l~ t was d e ~i ve d . Us in g th i s Appendix th e ~ead e~ wi l l be t te~ u nd e~st a n d th e st ~ u c tu ~e of lo c al g ove~ n me n t fi n a n ce s u s e d i n t his ~ e po ~t and the t e~minolog y e mpl o ye d. 
 
COUNTY GENE RAL RE VENUES 
F'~ O Pf.?~ t y T .3 :-: '':;'5 Rea l and Pe~sanal P~ ope~ty Ta :-: e s Pub l i c Utili ties Tax e s Mo t o ~ Vehicle Ta x e s Mobil e Home Tax e s 
FIFA ~ Pen al t i es~ In t.e ~ es t~ 
Cost I n t a n g ible Ta xes Tax Collection F e es Othe r P~o pe~t y Ta xe s 
Sales . Ex cise , and S p e c i a l Use T a :-: t':::. Loca l Option Sales Tax Al c o h o l i c Beve~ ag e Ta xes In su~ ance Premiums Ta x Hot el -tolD-te l Tc:~ :-: Mi s cellaneo us Othe~ Taxes 
Licens e s an d Pe~mi ts Reve nue s Bu sin ess L i c en s e s / Oc c u p a t i orr a I Tax e s Alco h o l i c Beve~age License s Building Perrnits Ot he r License s a n d P e r mi t s 
Int e r qove ~ n m e n t a l Rev enues . b y Type Payments in Li eu of Taxes Ge neral Pub l i c P u~ p os e GI~c\n t s ( S t a t e ) Fuel Oil~ Mil ea g e ( St ate) Roa d a nd 8~idge F unds 
W at e~ ;W astewate~ G~an ts 
S oli d Wa ste G~ants Cou n ty Health 8oa~d Rev e n u es 
45 
 
Inte~go v e~nm ental R e ve nu es~ b y Tvp e (Cont . ) Cr i me and C o ~ ~ec t i o n5 Grant s Co mmu n i ty Deve l o p me nt B l o ck C3 t-a n ts Dev elo p me n t A u t h o ~ ity Re v e - 
nu e ~=- 
P u bl ic Wel f a ~e G ~ an t s General Rev e nue Sha r in g Rea l Estate T ~ a ns f er Ta x P hys ic a l an d Men t a l Healt h 
GI- a n t s 
O the~ Inte~ go ve~nmental 
F: e vi=nue 
In te~ government al Revenue s~ b y 
S o u~ c e S t a tE~ 
Oth e~ Loca l Go vernment s Fed(? I~ a l 
Se ~vic e Charg e Reven u e s Garbage /Trash Co l l e c t i o n Ch ar- ges L a.ndf ill Fees Pa~ ks and Rec reation C ha~ g es Amb u l a n c e Ch a ~ g es Hos pi t al C ha ~qe~~ F i~e S e ~v i c e S ubscr i pti o n Ot he r Ser v i ce Cha~ge Reve nues 
 
 Us e of Mon e y a n d P r o per ty 
1 ~:e vE:~n ut-?S 
Re ce i p ts f ro m Mate ri al ! E q u i prn E~ ITL !:)cd e'3 Recei p t s f r o m Real Propert y Sa l e ~;; Rent s a n d Ro y al ti e s 
 
Oth er Gen e ra l Reven ues S p ec ia l As s e ss me n t s 
Ot h E'r- F:? VE' n u e~,. 
 
COUNTY UTILIT Y REVE NUES 
8- "f P u r p ose Water a n d S e we r Sys t e m El ectric S u p pl y Syst e m Gas Su p pl y Sy stem {~ i I'" P c)t- t P u b l ie TI'''a ns.i t 
 
By Type 0+ 1';:e 'h?nU e 
Ope r at ing Reve n u e 
Ot he r" l~ e V E?n U e 
 
COUNT Y GENE RAL EX PEND I TURES 
 
Cou n t y Admin i stration Financi al Ad mi n i st r a ti on Ta x Cornm i ssi ori er Ta x As s e s s o r/ Ap p ra i s e r Ge ner a l Admi n ist rat i o n Co u r t h o use and General County Bu i Ld in q e General In sur ance Employee Benefits 
 
Hou sin g an d Com mu n it y De velop men t Ho u sin g a n d Co mmunity De velopmen t Bu i l d ing I nsp ect io n a a n d F:i?g UJ. a t i on 
Hi gh!'i 3 Vs Hig hw a y s. Ro ads, an d 8ri dge s 
 
Court s Superior Court St.ate COUI~t Juvenile and Magi strate COUt- t. F'1~obate Cou r-t C l e r k of Co u r t. s 
P ubl i c S a fet y a n d Co r r e c t i o n s Sher iff ' s De p a rt me nt Polic e Dep ar tmen t COI'Tl'?c::ti ori a l In st :i tu te Jai I Fi r" e Df.?pi,u-tm ent. 
 
Heal th a nd Hum a n S e r v i ce Count y Hosp i t c:1l P a ym ent s t o Other Ho s p it al s F'u b l ic He alth Publi c lA) e l i: an~ Amb u lan ce Servic e 
L.c= i ~3 U r" e Set" v i ces P arks a n d Re cr ea tion Lib t- a 1-' :i e s 
F'ub I i c (Jor k => 1,Ja t UI~ aI f;:esoun: e<:: G arb a ge / r ~as h Co l l e c t i o n La.ndf ill 
 
O t he ~ Ex pe nd i tur e s 
 
46 
 
 CU UI'JTY UT I L IT Y EX PEN DITUr;;E S 
Uy F'Lwp ose Wat e r a n d Se we r S ys tem E lec t r ic Supp l y S ystem Gas Supp l y Sys t e m ri irp iJr t Publ ic Tr a nsit 
 
By T yp e o f Expen d it u r e Cu rre n t Oper ati on s P urchas e of E q u i p me n t , 2.nd St l~ u c t u.I'- e ~-3 Cona t. ru c c i on I n ter-' es,t. E>: p e n 5 (? 
 
La nd , 
 
CUUNTY DEBT 
8 0nd De b t , b y P urp os e vJatel~ S ystem Ga s S yst em El e c tric t:l y st em Ed u c a t i o n (Non - Sch o ol Boar d) Fir'e Prot ecti on Pu blic Bu il d i ng s S t r e e ts / Ro ads /H i gh wa y s t1 ul t i - Pul~ pose F: ecreat i o n J ail s 
 
Bo n d De b t , Out s t andin g a t Df F'i sc c<.! Y e a, l~ Ge n er a l Obli g ati Dn F: f3:! \/en U E:' 
 
En d 
 
De b t Is sue d , Ret ir ed, In t e r e st P a id , and Amount Ou tst and in g at E n d of Fi s ca l Ye a r Bonds L o n g- T e r m, Oth e r t h an Bo n d s 
S h o l~ t - T el~m 
 
CO UNT Y CASH AND I NVES TMENT AS S E TS 
 
Cas h and Deposi t s 
 
By Ty p e 
 
Federal Securities 
 
Sinkin g F unds 
 
F e d eral Ag ency S e c u r it ies 
 
Bon d F u n d s 
 
Sta~e and Loc al Go ve r n me nt 
 
Held in Other F u n ds 
 
Sf? CLW i ti es 
 
Other- S e c u r- it i e s 
 
47 
 
 MUNI CIPAL GENERAL REVENUES 
 
F'r-o pel- t y Ti':\ >: e.s Re a l a n d Pe rso na l P r o per t y 
T o;":': 
P u b l ic Ut il iti e s Ta x es Motor Ve h icl e Ta x e s Mobil e Home Ta x e s 
FIF f~~ P e n i:\ l ti E? S:,~ I nt('? I~e ~::; t; 
t C; D~:; Iri t a n q i b I e Ta,>: es Ra i l r oa d E q ui p me n t Ta x 
Sales ~ E :{cise~ anej S p e <: i a ]. LJ s e Ta >: es Local Op tion S a l e s Ta x Ins u r an c e Pr emi u ms Ta x Hotel -I'I Dtel Ta x Fran ch ise P a yme n t Tax (Pu b l ic utilit i es ) Alcoholi c Beverage Ta x e s Miscell an eo u s Ot her Ta xes 
Service Ch a r g e Re ven u e s Parking Fa ci li ties / Par king 
r'let e l~ s 
Garb ag e /Tr a sh Co l l e ct io n 
Chan:.~e s 
Landf i 1 1 F E~ e s Parks a n d Re c r e a t i o n Ch ar- 
g f25 Ambulanc e Char g e s Hospi t;:d Ch .ar o e e Fire Service Su b s cr i p t i o n 
Fees Cemeter-y F ees Other S ervic e Ch a rg e Re v e n ue s 
 
L i c e nse s a nd Pe rm i t s Reven ues Bu si ne ss L icens e s/Dc cupa tic-j nt:.. l T"H: es Al c o h o l i c Be v e r a g e Licen se s Bu i 1 d i i-I q F E:i'- ili i t ~; Other Licen ses a n d Permits 
Interg ov er n me n t a l R e venues~ b y Typ e Pa y ment s in L ieu of Ta xe s Gener al Public Pu r p o s e Gr-' i:\fl tS. (S t a.t e ) Capi t a l Outlay Gr ants (Stat e ) Road a n d Brid g e F u n d s Wate r /Wa s t e wa t e r Gra nt s So lid Wast e Gra n ts Crime and Corrections Grants Community Development Block Gr c:\ n t s P ubl ic Wel f are Grants General Re v e n ue S h a r i n g Real Es t a t e Tr a n s f e r T ax Other Intergover nmental Reve n u e 
Int ergo v ernmental Revenues~ b y Sour-ce S t clte Other Loca l Go vernments Federcd 
Mi scell aneous Gene r al Re venues Speci a l Assessments Other F:evenues:, 
 
Use of Mone y a nd venues Receipts from S a 1 r~ ~; 
 
Prop ert y ReRe a l Prop erty 
 
48 
 
 MU NI C I PAL UTILIT Y REVENUES 
Bv Pur pos e Wat er and S e we r Sy st em E l ec t r i c S u p p ly S ys t em Gas Sup p ly Sy s tem Ai r p o rt Public Transit 
 
By Typ e o f Re v enu e Op e ratinq Rev e n ue Ot her Reven u e 
 
11UN IC IPAL GENERAL EXPE NDIT URES 
Ci t y Ad mi n i s t ra t i o n Fin ancial Administration Ge n e ra l Adm i n ist r a t i o n Ge n e ra l Munici pal Bui l d i ng s Ge ne ra l In s uran ce Employee Benefits 
Co ur ts Municip al Co ur t 
Public Safety and Correcti ons Police Dep artment J ail Fire Depar tment 
Health and Human Service Municipal Hospital Payments to other Ho spi tals Soci al Se r v i ces Public Health Public Welfare Ambulance Service 
 
Pu b l i c Work s Streets /Drainage Gar bag e /Tr a sh Co l l e c t i o n Lan d fill Pa r k i ng F acili ties / Met e r s 
Housing a n d Community De velop ment Hou s ing a n d Com munit y Devel o p me n t Building In spection and Regulation 
Leisure Se r v i c e s Parks and Recreation Libraries 
Educ ation Non-School Board Expend itures 
Other Expenditures 
 
MUNICIPAL UTILITY E XPENDITURES 
By P u r p o s e Water and Sewer S y stem El e c tric Sup p l y System Gas Suppl y Sys t e m Airport Public Transit 
 
By Type of Expenditure Cur r ent Operation s Pur c has e o f Equip men t , and S t r u c t u r e s Con struction Interest Expen s e 
 
Lan d. 
 
49 
 
 MUN IC I PA L DEBT 
 
Bo n d Debt , b y Pu rp o s e Wat er S yst em 
Gas ~3 Y 5teln E l e c t r ic Sys t e m I n d u st ria l Reven u e Educ ati on Tran si t Other 
 
Bo n ds 
 
Bond Debt, Out st and i n g a t End of Fiscal Ye ar 
Gen er al Ob l i gat io n Re venue 
De b t Is sue d ~ R e t i red ~ Interest Paid~ a nd Amou nt Ou t s ta nd i n g at End o f F isca l Year Bond s Lo ng - T erm~ Other t h a n Bo n d s Short -Term 
 
MUN ICIPAL CASH AND INVESTM ENT ASSET S 
Ca s h an d De posi ts Fede r a l Secur i t i es F ede ral Ag en c y Se c u r i t i e s St a te and Local Governmen t Securities Ot h e r Securities 
 
50 
 
 r:4F' F'E:ND 1 X E!: 
LOCAL GOVERNM ENT F IN AN CIAL DATA: 
rv 1 r:;f3 ~:S 
 
(A l l Amo un t s i n Do l lars ) 
 
Total local 
 
It en 
 
Governeent Counties Munic ipal itiEs 
 
------------------ -- ----------------- -- ------------------ --------------------------- 
 
6eneral Revenues 
 
2,406 , 353.44 9 1,361 ,766 ,596 1,044,586, 853 
 
Utility Reven ues 
 
1,212 ,802 ,544 180,043,401 1,032,759,143 
 
Total Revenues 
 
3, 619, 155, 993 1,541,809,997 2,077,345 , 996 
 
General Expenditures Utility Expenditures Total Expenditures 
 
2, 185 ,859,41 0 1,307,396, 206 878,463 ,204 1,057,434,753 159,969,601 897,465, 152 3, 24 3, 294 ,163 1,467 ,365,807 1,775,928, 356 
 
Revenue Items 
Property Ta xes Sales, Excise, Special Use Taxes (1) Intergovernmental Revenues Use of Honey and Property licenses and Permits Service Charges Fines, Fees and Forfeitures 
Federal Intergoverniental State I ntergovern~ental Other local Intergovernmental 
Water and Sewer Utilities Electric Ut ilities 6as Utilities Ai rports Public Transit Systems 
Real and Personal Property Taxes local Opt ion Sales Taxes MARTA Sales Tax Dedicated Sales Tax Alcohol ic Beverage Taxes Franchise Payment Taxes Insurance PrelJiums Taxes Interest on Investments 
 
792,06 0,695 555,163,704 583, 748,991 111,520,582 96 ,630,665 166,728,612 100,500,200 
 
592,590,31 2 22 4,027 .064 310, 715,967 59,581,856 
75, 306,659 63,981,377 
 
199 ,470,383 33 1, 136. 640 273 ,033,024 51,938, 726 61 , 067,304 91,421, 953 
36, 518, 823 
 
283, 087,077 277 ,01 3,626 23,722,029 
 
90,586 ,406 211 , 759 ,528 
8,370,033 
 
192, 500,671 65, 254 ,098 15,351,996 
 
50 3,879,883 333,990, 595 247 ,627,657 123,281,7 30 
4, (122 , 67 9 
 
165 ,412 ,684 10,668, 243 
916,084 3,011,320 
35, 070 
 
338 ,467,199 323,322 ,352 246,7 11,573 120,270,41 0 
3,987,609 
 
633,138,577 322 , 743 , 227 130,753,830 
3,860, 086 78,982, 005 72 , 917,618 62,024,956 92,082,1 38 
 
460,311 , 232 160,169 , 295 130,753,830 
3,817,791 26, 157,092 2, 008,0 33 28,56 2,115 49, 065,544 
 
172,827, 345 162,573 ,932 
o 
42,295 52, 824,913 
70,909,585 33,462,841 43, 016,594 
 
51 
 
 Total l ocal 
 
Ite m 
 
Governiilent Count ies Munici palit ies 
 
-------------- --- --------------- ---------------------- ------- --- -- ----------- ------- 
 
E ~penditure Items 
 
Public Safety Publ ic Works (2l Adlli nistr ati on le is ure Services Housing and COf.ffiunity Develop ment Healt h and HUR an Services Court s Highwa ys - Street s and Drainage Educati on (Non-School Boar d) Other Expend itures 
 
57 0 ~ 24 2~ 7 (16 
n l ,759 , 697 445 ,156, 035 13 3,674 , 695 81 , 284 , 762 318, 833, 077 108, 972 , 11 7 282 , 61 3,01 2 11,506,880 101,816,4 09 
 
283 ,506 ,837 43, 985 , 347 239, 11 5,671 66 ,815, 21 9 19 , 222 , 233 307,524,56 2 102,609, 683 199, 776,932 
814,686 44, 025, 036 
 
286 , 735,869 87,774 , 350 206 ,040,364 66 ,859 , 476 62,062 ,549 11 . 30B,51 5 6,362,434 82 ,836,080 10 ,692,1 94 57,791,373 
 
Water and Sewer Uti l it ies (3) Elect ric Uti liti es (31 Gas Utiliti es (31 Air ports (31 Transi t Systeffis (3) 
 
459 / j50. 498 279, B25,175 212 ,257,26 2 97,340,753 
8,961,065 
 
144,481, 907 8,699, 901 686, 169 6, 030,88 5 70,739 
 
314,568,59 1 271, 125, 274 211 , 57 1,093 91,309,868 
8,890, 326 
 
Debt Itess 
 
Outstanding at End of Year Revenue Bonds General Obl igat ion Bo nds Short- Ier n Debt 
 
2,477 , 002,339 1,846,650 ,759 
553 ,402 ,501 76,949, 079 
 
803 ,024, 393 1,673,977 ,946 456 ,631 ,558 1,390 ,019,201 276 ,693,498 276, 709, 003 69,699,337 7,249,742 
 
Issued Dur ing Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds General Obligation Bonds Short-Terl! Debt 
 
446 ,466,094 175, 061,B20 74,631 ,41 3 196,772 ,B61 
 
321 , 344,838 90,715 , 291 52,385,457 178,244 , 090 
 
125,1 21 , 256 84, 346 ,529 22,245,956 18,528, 771 
 
Retired During Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds General Obligation Bonds Short-Terl! Deb t 
 
357,157,909 140,498 ,229 40,031,889 176,627 ,791 
 
242,702, 092 62,728,984 17,507,648 162 ,465,460 
 
114,455, B17 77,769,245 22 ,524,241 14 ,162, 331 
 
Interest Paid on Debt During Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds General Ob li ga ti on Bond s Sh ort-Ter ~ Debt 
 
163,353, 390 120,602,947 33 , 183, 934 
9,566,509 
 
52,681,960 27, 168,44 2 16, 757,206 8,756, 312 
 
11 0, 671 ,430 93, 43 4,505 16,4 26, 728 
81 0,197 
 
Cash and In vest llent Asset s at End of Fiscal Year 
 
Held in Sinking Funds Held in Bond Funds Held in Al l Other Funds 
Tot al 
 
428,07 0,711 346,396,096 1, 211 ,987,271 1,986,454, 078 
 
84 ,033,212 344,037, 499 209,22B,213 137 , 167 ,883 425, 121 ,403 786,865,868 718, 382,828 1, 268, 071, 250 
 
 No t es : 
1 
~ 
 
Exclud e s $ 13 0 ~7 53 .83 0 in MA RTA S a l e s T a x col l ect ed b v De Ka l b a n d F u l to n Co u nties a nd $ 3 ~ 860 . 0 86 i n Dedic a t e d Sa les Ta x c o l l e ct ed b y S p a l di n g a n d Unio n Co u n t i es . 
Th e muni ci p a l tI g ur e e xclud e s stre et s and dr a in ag e. which i s s h o wn i n the Highwa ys line . Stree ts a n d d ra i nag e is con s ider e d a municip al p u b l i c wor k s it e m el se wh e re i n t h i s r ep o r t . 
Ex c lud e s d e p r e c i a t i o n a nd in t erest p a ymen t s on debt. 
 
  PIF'F'E:I\Jl) I XC : 
P ERCENTAGE COMP ARI SONS OF COUNTY AND MU NI CI P AL 
F:E\/ENUE ~ EX PEND I TUr;:E " DEB T ?lND (1!3S ET I TG1 ~; 
 
The f o l l o wi n q tabl e p ~ovi des a s u m m a ~ y v i e w o f t he per ce nta qe c om p a ri s o n s of co u nty a n d mu ni c i p a l d a t a i t e ms. . Co mp a r i s o n s a n d c o nt ~as ts c a n be d r awn o f t h e fi sca l p ra ct ic e s o f l oc a l g o ver n me n t s i n Geo rg i a . 
 
Itell 
6eneral Revenues Utilit y Revenues To tal Revenues 
6eneral Expendit ures Utilit y Expenditures Total Expenditures 
 
Count ies Municipalities 
 
B8.3 ~ 
II.n 
1(1 0.01 
 
50.3% 
49.n 
100.0% 
 
89. 14 10. 9'1. 
I (i O . O:~ 
 
49.5 ~ 
50.51 100.OX 
 
Revenue Ite~s (As a Percent of Total Revenuesj 
 
Property Taxes Sal es, Exc ise, Special Use Taxes Intergovernmental Revenues Use of Honey and Property Licenses and Perlits Servi ce Charges Fines, Fees an d Forfeit ures 
 
38.4I 
14. 5'1. 
20 .2% 3.9'1. 
2.3'1. 
4.n 
4. 1'1. 
 
Federal Intergovernmental 
 
5.9Z 
 
State Intergovernmental 
 
13.7Z 
 
Other Local Intergovernlental 
 
0.5! 
 
Water and Sewer Utiliti es Electric Utilities 6as Util it ies Airports Pu bli c Transit Systems 
 
10 .7Z 0.77. 0. 1% 
0.2I .0'1. 
 
Real and Personal Propert y Ta xes Local Option Sales Taxes MARTA Sales Tax Dedicated Sales Tax Alcoholic Beverage Taxes Franchise Pay~ent Taxes Insurance PreliuBs Taxes Interest on Investments 
 
29.9'1. 
10.47. 8.57. 0.2'1. 
1.7i. 
0. 1'1. 
1.9'1. 
_ ') u 
J.L L 
 
9. 6'1. 
15 .9'1. 13.1 'I. 
2.5X 
2. 91 
4.4'1. 
I.B:' 
9.3% 3.1'1. 0.7'1. 
16 .31: 15.61 11 .9'1. 5.8% 
e.zr 
8.31 7.81: 0. 01 .0'1. 2.51 3.4! 1.61 2.1! 
 
.c...J-C -_-'' 
 
 Expend iture Ite~s lAs a Percen t of Tot al Expenditures) 
 
Counti es Municipal ities 
 
Public Safety Fubl ic Wor ks Adllinist rati on Le isure. Ser vices Hous i ng and Conmunity Development Health and Human Services Court s Hig hways - Streets and Drainage Ed ucation (No n-School Board ) Other Ex pend itures 
 
19. 31. 3.01. 16. 3% 4.6;( 
I. 3! 21. 01. 
7. 0l 
13. 6! 0.14 3.0 1. 
 
16.1 i: 4.9X 11.61 3. Bi: 
.. c' , 
.)  .J.t. 
0. 6i: 0.4 : 4. 7i: ,~ . 6X 
3.3% 
 
Water and Sewer Util ities El ectric Ut ilities Gas Util i ties Ai rpor ts Trans it Systems 
 
9.8! 
 
1/. 7'1. 
 
0.6:' 
 
15.3X 
 
. o! 
 
II. 9Z 
 
0.41. 
 
5. Ii: 
 
. 01. 
 
(i.5% 
 
Debt It ens 
Outstanding at End of Year Revenue Bonds General Obligat ion Bonds Short-Terl! Debt 
Issued Dur ing Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds Genera l Obligat ion Bonds Short- Terl Debt 
Retired During Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds Gener al Obligation Bonds Short-Terll Debt 
Interest Paid on Debt During Fiscal Year Revenue Bonds General Obligat ion Bonds Sho rt- TermOebt 
 
100 .01. 56. 9!. 
3 4 . 5~ 
B. n 
100.OX 
28.27. 16. 3% 55.5Z 
100. OX 
25. 81. 7.21. 66 . 91. 
100. 0:' 
51.6i. 31. 81. 16. 61. 
 
100.OX B3.0i: 16. Sl 
0.41. 
10 0. 01. 67 .41. 1/ .8 l 14.B'l. 
100.0! 6/. 9i: 19. 7I 12.U 
100. OX B4.4X 14.81. 
s.n 
 
Cash and lnvestffient Assets at End of Fiscal Year 
 
Hel d i n Sinking Funds Held i n Bond Funds Held in Al l Other Funds 
Total 
 
11 . 71. 29.1i. 59.21. 100. 0! 
 
27. IX 
10 .Bl 62. 1:( lOO. OX 
 
 AF'F'E I\l D I x D: COUNT I ES I tjC"::LUDE:D H~ 1985 SURVEY F,ESU L T5 
population figures are esti r.ates obtained frol the Bureau of the Census for July 1, 1982. These esti~ates are prepared, in part for use by the Of fice of Revenue Sharing, Depart~ent of the Treasury, and are widely u ~e1 by go vern~ent agencies and private concerns. 
 
Countv Appling County Atk inson County Bacon Count y Baker County Baldwin Count y Banks County Barrow Count y Bartow County Ben Hill Coun tv Berrien County Bibb County Bleckley Count y Brantle y County Brooks Count y Bryan County Bulloch County Burke Count y Butts Count y Calhoun Count y Callden County Candler County Carroll County Catoosa County Charlton County ChathaIR County Chattahoochee County Chattooga County Cherokee Count y Clarke County Clay County Clayton County Clinch County Cobb Count y Coffee County Col qui tt Count y ColuJibia County Coo k County Coweta County Crawford Count y Crisp County Dade County DaMson Count y 
 
1982 
 
Es t tQQ. Grouo 
 
15,803 D 
 
6,180 F 
 
9,379 F 
 
3,927 F 
 
36, 71 4 C 
 
9,231 F 
 
2 2~283 
 
0 
 
42, 21 3 C 
 
16,449 0 
 
13, 726 E 
 
1,531.840 A 
 
10, 780 E 
 
8, 981 F 
 
15, 2'16 [I 
 
10,818 E 
 
30 ,498 C 
 
19 ,905 D 
 
14,88B E 
 
5,737 F 
 
15,787 D 
 
7,555 F 
 
59, 026 B 
 
38,113 C 
 
7,464 F 
 
209,791 A 
 
20 , 795 D 
 
21,542 [I 
 
56,970 B 
 
75,783 B 
 
3,530 F 
 
155,625 A 
 
6,697 F 
 
320 , 647 A 
 
27,531 C 
 
36. 24 0 C 
 
43 ,823 C 
 
13,779 E 
 
41.122 C 
 
7,164 F 
 
20, (1()7 
 
[I 
 
11,798 E 
 
5,186 F 
 
:=i:1 
 
County Decatur County DeKalb Count y Dodge County Dool y County Dougherty County Douglas County Earl y Coun ty Echols Count y Eff in g ha~ County Elbert County Ellanuel County Evans County Fannin County Fayette County Floyd County Forsyth Count y Franklin County Fulton County Gillier County Glascock County Glynn County Gordon County Grady County Greene County Gwinnett County Habershall County Hall County Hancock County Haralson County Harris County Hart County Heard County Henry Count y Houston County Irwin County Jad son Coun t y Jasper County Jeff Davis Count y Jefferson County Jenkins County Johnson County Jones County 
 
198 2 Est EQQ. Group 26,319 C 492,195 A 17,083 0 10,692 E 102,704 A 58,587 B 13,298 E 
2,24 2 F 19,41 3 D lB , 98 2 [I 21,231 D 8,634 F 15, 029 D 33,732 C 79,468 B 30,151 C 15,434 D 601 ,287 A 11 ,466 E 2,359 F 56,073 B 30,656 C 20, 032 D 11,579 E 192,160 H 26,073 C 78,120 B 9,416 F 18,924 D 15,461 D 18,956 D 6,609 F 38,141 C 79,509 B 8,977 F 26,286 C 7,454 F 11,747 E 18,505 D 8,737 F 8,659 F 17,431 D 
 
 ~ 
l.s na r Coun t Y Lanier Count y Laurens Count y Lee Count y Liberty CQunty Linealn County Long Cou nt v Lownd es County Luspk in Coun t y NcDuff i e County Mcint osh County Macon County ~adison Count y ~arion County Meriwether County Ni ller County Mitchel ! County Non roE Co unt y Montgomer y Cou nty Horgan Count y /'lurray County New ton County Oconee County Oglethorpe County Pauld ing Count y Peach County Pi ckens Count y Pierce Count y Pike County Pol ~ Count y Pulasl:i County Putna~ County Quiblan County Rabun County Randolph Count y Richf.lond County F:oddale County 
 
1982 Est EQ.2. Group 12, 052 E 
5,747 F 37, 737 C 12, 6:'1) E 41, 026 C 6, 720 F 4,970 F 68. 915 B 11,254 E 18,906 D B,150 ~ 14 ,277 E 18,395 D 5,207 F 21,206 D 6,989 F 21,41 7 0 14 ,656 E 6,959 F 12,068 E 20,706 D 37,280 C 13, 144 E 9,172 F 27, 325 C 19 ,867 0 12,165 E 12 ,343 E 8,525 F 32,820 C 9, 012 F 10,632 E 2,331 F 10, 613 E 9,634 F 183,153 A 39,445 C 
 
~ 
SchlE YCounty ScrevEn Cou nty Sellinole County Spalding County Stephens County Stewart Count y SUllter County Talbot Count y Taliaferro County Tattnall Count y Taylor County 
Telfair County Terre ll County Thomas County Ti ft Coun t y Too;Bbs Count y TOHns County Treutlen County Troup Count y Turner County THiggs County Un i on County Upson Cou nty Walk er County Walton County Ware County Warren Count y Washington County Wayne County Webster County Whee ler County Whit e Count y Whi tfi eld County Wilcox County Wi l kes County Wilki nson County Worth Count y 
 
19B2 Est ~ 
3,417 14,319 8,956 50~ 132 21, 972 5,893 30 , 120 6,774 2,056 17,61 0 7,967 11 , 369 12 ,044 38,717 33,637 22,967 6,088 6, 216 50,726 9,606 9,436 9,865 26, B65 56,962 31,098 37,460 6,722 19. 085 21,571 2,378 5,141 10, 675 65,83 3 7,632 11,177 10,454 18,432 
 
Gr oup 
F 
E 
F B 0 F C F F D F E 
E C 
C D F F B F F F C 
B C C F 0 0 F F E B F E E 0 
 
58 
 
 f~1 I::'F'EJm I X E : 
MUN I CI PALI T I ES IN CLU DE D IN 19 8 5 S UR VEY RESULTS 
Population figures are esti ~ates obtained fromthe Bu reau of the Census for July 1, 1982 . These esti~ ates are orepared, in part for use by the Office of Re venue Sharing, Depart ment of the Treasury, and are ~ i de! y used by govern~ent agencies and private concer ns. 
 
1982 
 
l1uni ci pal i ty 
 
Est EQQ. Gro up 
 
Abbevi 11 e Ci ty 
 
1,0Ot F 
 
Acworth Cit y 
 
3,908 E 
 
Ada irsville City 
 
1,773 F 
 
Adel City 
 
5,688 D 
 
Adrian City 
 
768 6 
 
Ailey City 
 
570 G 
 
Alalllo City 
 
1,003 F 
 
Alapaha City 
 
758 G 
 
Albany Cit y 
 
84,771 A 
 
Aldora Cit y 
 
139 H 
 
Allenhu rst Ci ty 
 
6'O~L 
 
G 
 
Al lentown Ci ty 
 
316 H 
 
Aila City 
 
3,977 E 
 
Al pharet t a City 
 
.). L'JL""'t 
 
E 
 
Alston Citv 
 
97 H 
 
Alto Ci ty 
 
647 6 
 
Alllbr ose Ci tv 
 
342 H 
 
Americus City 
 
16,522 C 
 
Andersonville City 
 
288 H 
 
Arab i City 
 
392 H 
 
Aragon City 
 
856 G 
 
Arcade Cit y 
 
232 H 
 
Arg ~'le City 
 
195 H 
 
Arlington City 
 
1,621 F 
 
Arnoldsville City 
 
209 H 
 
Ashburn City 
 
4,860 E 
 
Athens City 
 
42,863 B 
 
At! anta Ci tv 
 
428, 153 A 
 
Auburn City 
 
860 G 
 
Augusta City 
 
46,449 B 
 
Austell City 
 
3,880 E 
 
Avera City 
 
229 H 
 
Avondale Estates Cit y 1,254 F 
 
Baconton City 
 
782 6 
 
Bainbridge City 
 
10 ,758 C 
 
Baldwin City 
 
1,254 F 
 
Ball Ground City 
 
669 6 
 
Barnesville City 
 
4,771 E 
 
Bartow Cit y 
 
398 H 
 
Barwick City 
 
41 3 H 
 
Baxley Ci ty 
 
3,612 E 
 
Bellv ille City 
 
163 H 
 
5 (]i 
 
~unicipalitv 
Berkeley La~e City Berlin City Beth lehe~ City Bibb City City Bishop City 81 ackshear Ci t y Blairsville City Bla kely City Bloomin gda le City Blue Ri dge Ci ty Bluffton Cib' Blythe City Bogart City Boston City Bowdon City Bowlllan City Brasel ton Ci ty Braswell Ci tI' Bremen City Brinson City Bronwood City Brooklet City Brooks City Broxton City Brunswic k Ci ty Buchanan Ci ty Buena Vista City Buford City But! er Ci ty Byromville City Byron City CadNel1 City Cairo City Calhoun City CalJlilla City Canon City Canton City Cad City Carlton City Carnesville City Carrollton City Cartersville City 
 
1~82 
Est E2.P. 
626 561 267 893 170 3,465 597 
5. 935 1,908 1,31 9 
141 
~.C' 
')'lJ 
764 1,467 1,801 
B67 336 269 4,048 299 561 1,071 22 2 1,087 17,790 1,068 1,586 7,097 1,99B 574 1,685 339 8,856 5,902 5,429 723 3, 766 239 282 48 0 14,836 9,217 
 
~ 6 G H G H 
E 8 
D F F H H 6 
r 
I 
F G H H 
E 
H 6 F H F 
C 
F F D F 6 F H D D D 6 
E 
H H H 
C 
D 
 
 Muni cipal i h Cave Spr ings City Cecil City Cedartown Cit y Cen tervill e Ci ty Centra lhatchee City Challiblee Ci ty Chat svorth Ci ty Chauncey City Chester City Chickaf.duga City Clar kesville City Cl arkst on Ci ty Claxton City Clayton City Cleveland City Cl ima, City Cobbtown City Cochran Cit y Colbert City Cole~an Ci t y Col lege Park City Coll ins City Colquitt City Co luebus City COSIer City Coenerce Ci ty Conyers City Coolidge City Corde Ie Ci tv Corinth City Cornelia City Covingt on City Crawf ord City Crawfordville City Culloden Ci ty Cusseta City Cuthbert City Dacula City Dahlonega City Daisy City Dallas City Dal ton Ci t y Dallasc us Ci ty Da nielsville City Darien City Da visboro Cit y Dawson City Dawson ville City Decatur City 
 
198 2 Est ~ 
915 283 8, 715 
') . ~ - 
L,t:J:J 1 
241 6,711 2,656 
354 411 2,270 1, 288 4,639 2,728 1, 741 1, 589 418 463 5,11 0 511 148 25,348 594 1,993 174,348 987 4,068 6,906 752 11,268 70 3,299 11,992 494 655 296 1,184 4,311 1,599 2,922 171 2,566 20,183 385 338 1,681 403 5,747 390 18,185 
 
Group G 
H 
D E 
H 
D E 
H H 
F 
F 
E E 
F 
F 
H 
H 
D G 
H B 
6 F A 6 
E D G C 
H 
E C 
H 6 H 
F E F E 
H 
E C 
H H 
F 
H 
D 
H 
C 
 
60 
 
1982 
 
lIunic ipal i tv 
 
Est tQ!!. Group 
 
Deepst ep City 
 
127 H 
 
D e~ ores t City 
 
1,138 F 
 
Dex ter Cit'! 
 
571 6 
 
Dillard Ci tv 
 
215 H 
 
Doerun Ci ty 
 
1, 082 f 
 
Donalsonville Ci ty 
 
3,275 E 
 
Dorav ille Ci ty 
 
7,321 II 
 
Doug las Cit.,. 
 
11 ,184 C 
 
Douglasville City 
 
8,182 D 
 
DuPont City 
 
.?/-b' 
 
H 
 
Dublin City 
 
16,414 C 
 
Dudle y Ci ty 
 
412 H 
 
Duluth City 
 
3,451 E 
 
East Dublin City 
 
2,691 E 
 
East Ellijay City 
 
533 6 
 
East Point Cit.,. 
 
38,297 B 
 
Eashan City 
 
5.288 D 
 
Eatonton City Edgehill Cit y 
 
5,056 D 
 
".,..Ji. 
 
H 
 
Edison City 
 
1,174 F 
 
Elberton Ci ty 
 
5,783 0 
 
Ellaville Cit.,. 
 
1,661 F 
 
Ellenton City 
 
307 H 
 
Ellijay Cit y 
 
1,509 F 
 
Emerson City 
 
1,265 F 
 
En iglla City 
 
636 6 
 
Ephesus City 
 
196 H 
 
Eton City 
 
285 H 
 
Fairburn City 
 
3,912 E 
 
Fairsount Ci ty 
 
905 G 
 
Fa yettev ille City 
 
3,218 E 
 
Fitzgerald City 
 
10,447 C 
 
Flellington City 
 
495 H 
 
Flovilla City 
 
461 H 
 
Flowery Branch City 
 
753 G 
 
Folkston City 
 
2,277 F 
 
Forest Park City 
 
lB,186 C 
 
Forsyth City 
 
4,660 E 
 
Fort Ga ines City 
 
1,228 F 
 
Fort Oglethorpe Cit y 5,351 D 
 
Fort Vall ey City 
 
9,224 D 
 
Fran klin City 
 
720 G 
 
Fran klin Springs City 
 
8'."..10 
 
6 
 
Funston Cit y 
 
334 H 
 
Gainesville City 
 
15.155 C 
 
Garden City City 
 
6,027 D 
 
Gay City 
 
161 H 
 
Geneva City 
 
233 H 
 
Georgetown City 
 
937 G 
 
 Munic ipal ity Gibson City Gil ls ville Cit y Girard Ci t y Glennville Ci ty Glenwood City Good Hope City Gordon Cit y Grantville City Gray City Grayson Ci ty Greensboro City Greenville City Griffin City GrovetOlIO Ci ty GUI Branch City Guyton City Hagan City Hahira City Hali Iton Ci ty Halp ton City Hapeville City Haralson City Harlell City Harrison City Hartwell City Hawk insville City Hazelhurst City Helen City Helena City Hephzibah City Hiawassee City Higgston City Hilltonia City Hinesville Ci ty Hoboken City Hogansville City Holly Springs City HOleland City HOler City HOlerville Ci ty Hosch ton Cit y Ideal City Iia City Iron City Cit y Irwi nt on City Ivey City Jackson City Jacksonville City Jak in City 
 
1982 Est ~ 
742 139 222 4, 206 899 188 2,874 1,163 2,300 551 3,084 1,243 21,538 3,555 267 801 96 0 1,596 520 2, 378 5,775 107 1,580 41 7 4,978 4, 372 4,381 306 1, 391 1,570 501 
l 37 
536 13,078 
496 3,421 
734 698 798 3, 173 500 62 0 300 390 841 476 4,200 190 187 
 
Gr ou p G H H E G H E F F G 
E 
F C E H G G F G F 
D 
H F H 
E E E 
H F F G H G C H E G G G E G G H H G 
H 
E H H 
 
61 
 
198 2 
 
Munic ipal i t v 
 
Est Em!. Group 
 
Jasper City 
 
1,601 F 
 
Jefferson Ci ty 
 
1,914 F 
 
Jeffersonvi ll e City 1,542 F 
 
Jenki nsburg City 
 
351 H 
 
Jersey City 
 
176 H 
 
Jesup Ci t y 
 
9,847 D 
 
Jonesboro City 
 
4,232 E 
 
Junct ion Ci ty City 
 
259 H 
 
KennesawCity 
 
5,752 D 
 
Kingsland City 
 
2,296 F 
 
Kingst on City 
 
718 G 
 
Kite City 
 
313 H 
 
LaFayette City 
 
6,306 D 
 
LaGrange Ci ty 
 
25,023 B 
 
La ke City City 
 
3.075 E 
 
La ke Pad : Ci ty 
 
446 H 
 
La kela nd City 
 
2,652 E 
 
Lavonia City 
 
2,073 F 
 
Lawrence ville City 
 
9,964 D 
 
Leary City 
 
733 G 
 
Leesburg Ci ty 
 
1,383 F 
 
Lesl ie City 
 
445 H 
 
Lexington City 
 
259 H 
 
Li Iburn Ci t y 
 
4,299 E 
 
Lilly City 
 
213 H 
 
Li ncol nton Ci t y 
 
1,419 F 
 
Linwood City 
 
420 H 
 
Lithon ia City 
 
2,687 E 
 
Locust Grove Ci ty 
 
1,724 F 
 
Logan ville City 
 
2,090 F 
 
Lone Oak City 
 
134 H 
 
Lookout Mountain City 1,520 F 
 
Louisville City 
 
2,825 E 
 
LovejOy City 
 
228 H 
 
Ludowici City 
 
1,387 F 
 
Lula City 
 
842 G 
 
LUlber City City 
 
1,456 F 
 
LUlip kin City 
 
1,348 F 
 
Luthersville City 
 
608 G 
 
Lyerl y City 
 
504 G 
 
Lyons City 
 
4, 248 E 
 
Macon City 
 
118,730 A 
 
Madi son City 
 
2,974 E 
 
l1a nassas City 
 
l12 H 
 
Man chester City 
 
4, 779 E 
 
l1ansfield City 
 
422 H 
 
Hari etta Ci t Y 
 
33 ,687 B 
 
l1arshallville City 
 
l,570 F 
 
Martin City 
 
337 H 
 
 Municipal ity McCa ysville City f1c [)onough Ci ty Mclnt yre Ci ty McRae Ci ty l1e ansville Ci ty Me i gs Ci ty Menlo Cit y Me tter Ci ty Midvi li e Ci ty Midwa y Ci ty Milan City Milledgev ill e City Millen City Ni neral Bluff Ci ty Hitt hel l Ci ty Mo len a Ci ty Monroe City Montezuma City Monticell o City Mo reland City Morgan City Morganton City No rrow City Norven City Noul tr ie Ci ty Hount Ai ry City ~ount Vernon City Houn t lion Cit v Moun tain City Ci ty Mounta in Par k Ci t y Nahunta City Nashv ille City Nelson City Newborn Cit y Newington City Nellnan Ci ty Newton Ci ty Nicholson Ci ty Norc ross Cit y Norma n Par k City Norwood City Ilun ez Ci t Y Oak Park City Oa~ wood City Oc i l la Ci ty Oc onee Ci ty Odul Ci ty Ogl ethorpe City Ol iver Ci ty 
 
\982 Est EQ.P. 
\,23\ 
3,014 364 
3~ 378 
3\2 1,238 
548 3,605 
693 
r"r ..1.,) ..' 
\, 04 7 13, 235 3, 952 
144 212 35 1 8, 776 5, 114 2,378 370 3b8 294 3,692 520 15 , 517 70 1 1,718 511 
.f'Ll ?~ 
426 1,025 4,84 2 
600 41 0 390 11,772 75 6 539 4, 498 830 326 155 272 727 3,377 304 41 \ \, 34 5 238 
 
Group 
F 
E 
H 
E H F 
G 
E 
6 6 F 
C 
E H 
H 
H D 
D F H 
H H E 
6 
C 
6 F 
6 6 
H F E G 
H 
H C 
6 
s 
E 
6 
H 
H 
H 
6 
E 
H 
H 
F 
H 
 
62 
 
Municipal it y O'laha Ci ty Ollega City Orchard Hi II City Or.f ord City Pal set to City Parr ott City Pat terson Ci ty Pavo Cit y Peachtree Ci ty City Pearson Ci t y Pelhall Cit y Pe~br o ke Ci ty Perry Cit y Pine La ke Ci ty Pine Moun tain Ci ty Pinehurst Ci t y Pinev iewCi ty Pitts Ci ty Plains Ci tv Plainvill e City Pooler Cit y Port Wentwor th City Port al Cit y Pou l an Ci t y Powder Springs City Preston Ci t y Pulaski Cit y Quit ll an City Ray City Cit y Rayle City Rebecca City Register City Reidsvi l le Cit y Reflerton City Rent z Cit y Resaca City Rest Ha ven Cit y Reynolds Ci t y Rhi ne Cit y Riceboro Ci ty Ri chl and Ci ty Richmond Hill City Ri ddl evill e Cit y Rin con City Ringgold Cit y Riverdale Ci ty Riverside City Robert a Ci t y Rochelle Cit y 
 
\ 98 2 Es t. POP 
15 1 1,051 
19\ 
\,890 2,34\ 
202 695 
BOB 
7,860 1,884 4,284 1, 36 0 9,389 
979 1, 026 
386 565 396 64 9 271 2,763 3,850 687 786 3,71 3 433 27 9 5,164 64 6 192 262 
l Q, "I 
2, 400 405 339 352 
L' 1O',") 
1,281 618 245 
1,744 1,215 
154 
2,055 1,992 7, 498 
101 76\ 1,627 
 
Group 
H F H F f 
H 
6 
G 
D F 
E F 
D 6 F H 6 
H 
6 
H E E 
6 
G E H H 
0 6 
H H 
H F 
H H H H F 
6 
H 
F F 
H 
F F 
[) 
H G 
F 
 
 Muni cipali ty Rodllart Ci ty Rocky Ford City ROlle Cit y Roopvi ll e City RossviIIe City Roswel l Cit y Royston City Rutl edge Ci ty Sale City City Sandersville Cit y Santa Claus Cit y Sardis City Sasser City Savannah Cit y Scot! and Ci ty Screven Cit y Senoi a City Shady Oale Cit y Sharon City Sharpsburg Cit y Shel lean Ci ty Sh iloh Cit y Sky Vall ey Ci tY Smit hville City Slyrna Cit y Snellville City Social Circle City Soperton City Sparks City Sparta City Springfield City St. Harys Ci tY Stapelton Ci ty Statesboro City Stathal City Stockbridge City Stone Hountain Cit y Sugar Hill City SUllIertOllO Ci ty SUlimerville Cit y SUliner Cit y Surrency Ci ty SUManee Cit y Swainsboro City Sycallore City Sy lvania City Sylvester City Talbotton City Tall apoosa Ci t Y 
 
196 2 Es t EQQ. 
3, 621 
22 4 30 ,393 
264 3, 619 26, 300 1,893 
733 304 6, 204 190 1,215 
4 :~J"t. 
145, 699 
' L.).)~ ~. 
913 953 170 144 193 1,255 422 59 913 20,34 1 9, 458 
,., .,.,c t.,II .J 
2, 986 1,396 1,830 1,125 5,036 
403 14,994 1,10 I 2,246 5,120 2, 743 
199 4,809 
228 
350 1, 261 7,84 4 
507 3,364 6,096 1,155 2, 76 0 
 
Group E H 
B 
H 
E 
3 F 
G H 
0 
H F H 
A 
H 
G 6 H 
H H 
F 
H H G C 
0 E E F F F 
0 
H C F F 
D 
E 
H E 
H H F 
0 6 E 0 
F E 
 
63 
 
Muni cipalit y Tal lulah Fal ls Cit y Tarrytown City Ta ylorsvill e City Temole City Tenni lle Ci tv The Rod Ci ty T ho~asto n City T ho ~asville City Tho flson City Thun derbo lt Ci t y Tifton Cit y Tiger Cit y Tigna ll City Toccoa City Tooflsboro City Trenton Ci t y Tr ion City Tunne l Hi l l City Turin Ci ty Twi n City City Ty Tv Ci t y Tybee Island City Tyrone City Unadill a City Union City City Un ion Point City Uva lda City Valdosta City Varnell City Vidalia City Vienna City Villa Rica City Waco City Wadley City Waleska City Walnut Grove City Walthourville City War. Springs City Warner Robins City Warrenton Ci ty Warwick Cit y Washington Ci ty Wat ki nsv i lle City Waverl y Hal l City Waycross City Waynesboro City Wes t Po int City Weston City Whighu City 
 
1982 Est E.QQ. 
81 129 286 1,603 1,84 1 90 10,162 18 ,675 7,147 2,073 6,51 0 336 848 8,B15 66 0 1,685 1,634 1,021 247 1,456 695 2,385 1,345 1,54 0 5, 08 2 1,687 621 38,562 275 10,544 2,91 7 3,55 2 516 2,447 484 405 1,260 468 42,2 03 2, 145 457 4,71 0 1, 372 948 19,589 5,879 4,064 101 48 2 
 
Gr oup H H H F F H C C 
0 
F 
D 
H 
G 
0 
6 
F F F 
H 
F 6 F F F 
D 
F G 
B 
H 
C E E 6 F H 
H 
F H B F 
H 
E F G C 
D 
E 
H 
H 
 
 Municipality White Ci t y White Plains City Whitesburg Cit y Willacoochee City Williafison City Winder City Winterville City Woodbine Cit y Woodbur y Ci t y 
 
1982 Est tQ.D. Group 
491 H 246 H 797 6 1,158 F 212 H 6,692 D 632 6 968 6 1,747 F 
 
Hunicipali ty Woodland City Woodstock Ci ty Woodville City Woolsey City Wrens City Wrightsville City Yatesvi IIe Ci t y Young Harris City Zebulon City 
 
1982 Est tQ.D. 
678 3,143 
446 
100 
2~465 
2,545 410 708 924 
 
Group 
6 
E H H 
F 
E H 
6 G 
 
64