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Education in Atlanta special publication ► STARTS ON PAGE 10 J u l y 1 8 , 2 0 2 4 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 2 8 , N o . 2 9
City proposes 2025 budget Council advances Creekside Park contract By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
Johns Creek Mayor John Bradberry introduces his proposed $78.6 million fiscal year 2025 budget at the City Council work session July 8.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The Johns Creek City Council reviewed the mayor’s proposed $78.6 million fiscal year 2025 budget at its July 8 work session, focusing on public safety as well as recreation and parks. The spending plan, for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, is built on a rollback property tax rate of 3.516 mills, which translates to dollars per $1,000 of net assessed value. In his prepared opening statement, Mayor John Bradberry said revenue is down by roughly 2 percent as compared to fiscal year 2024 due to a decrease in the city’s largest revenue source, local option sales tax — the result of renegotiations of the LOST split with Fulton County last year. The budget is filtered through the city manager’s office, then passed on to the mayor for adjustments.
See BUDGET, Page 23
Study looks to increase mobility around Forsyth’s McFarland area By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com ATLANTA — A study adopted earlier this year imagines a “mobility hub” around the Ga. 400 and McFarland Parkway interchange in Forsyth County. The “McFarland Mobility Hub Feasibility Study” seeks to seamlessly link cycling, walking, transit and cars while position-
ROI
matters.
ing the area for future technologies like autonomous vehicles and air taxis. It is the first Livable Centers Initiative for the county since it joined the Atlanta Regional Commission in 2021. The grant program encourages communities in the Atlanta region to develop strategies to curtail vehicle traffic. Eric Bosman, project manager with Kimley-Horn, provided an overview of the
work to board members of the Atlanta Regional Commission at their joint meeting with the Transportation and Air Quality Committee July 10. Bosman said the study, serving as a planning resource over the next five to 10 years, involved an extensive amount of public engagement with postcards mailed to all 1,072 residential and commercial addresses in the
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study area, social media campaigns and community outreach. It evaluates how the county can leverage ongoing or planned transportation investments in the region to improve mobility for residents, he said, such as the Ga. 400 express lane project whose northern terminus is McFarland Parkway.
See MOBILITY, Page 21
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