City to Add Four More Police Officers

The Brookhaven City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to amend its annual budget to hire four more police officers and set aside $1 million in reserve – with no additional tax burden.

Additional revenue led the city to decrease the budget by more than $628,000.

“The council, with assistance from the city manager, has worked hard to maintain a lean budget by implementing fiscally conservative spending practices,” Brookhaven Mayor J. Max Davis said. “We received more revenue than we anticipated.”

Some of that revenue will be used to hire four additional police officers and three more Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC) assistants. The GCIC team will allow the police department to answer residents’ calls 24 hours a day, in addition to running criminal histories and collecting bonds.

The new officers will bring the city’s force, which launched July 31, to 58 officers.

The city is also setting aside $1 million in reserve, which will help the city secure a healthy bond rating for future capital projects.

“It is rare for new governments – especially during these difficult economic times – to be able to set aside such a hefty reserve. We are proud to say we did it during our first year of operations,” City Manager Marie L. Garrett said.

In July, the council adopted an annual budget of $16.5 million with a millage rate of 2.85 mills. The new adjusted budget is about $15.8 million.

This article was prepared by the city and edited for publication.