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ANSLEYRE.COM | 404.480.HOME 3035 PEACHTREE| ROAD, SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 ANSLEYRE.COM 404.480.HOME 3035 PEACHTREE| ROAD, SUITE 202, ATLANTA, GA 30305 ANSLEYRE.COM Equal housing opportunity. If you404.480.HOME have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a 3035housing PEACHTREE SUITE 202,relationship, ATLANTA, GA 30305 solicitation. All opportunity. data believed to ROAD, be accurate but not warranted. Equal If you have an existing brokerage this is not intended as a solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted. Equal housing opportunity. If you have an existing brokerage relationship, this is not intended as a solicitation. All data believed to be accurate but not warranted.
County forecasts property tax hike for 2026 expenses Jail improvements specified as budgetary ball and chain By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
PHOTOS BY: ADAM DARBY/APPEN MEDIA
Patrons glide across the Skate City Springs ice rink on the City Green Dec. 7 during a live concert from Ansley Stewart and her band before the annual Sparkle Sandy Springs parade.
Sparkle Sandy Springs bedazzles downtown By ADAM DARBY newsroom@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The annual Sparkle Sandy Springs parade and holiday celebration blanketed the City Springs district Sunday, Dec. 7, amid the Christmas and Hannukah season. The hour-long parade saw elves on stilts, glow-in-thedark floats, the Grinch and Santa Claus march through the city’s downtown district
in front of a crowd of several thousand. Families and guests of all ages participated in the festivities to kick off the winter holiday season, including a live concert, ice-skating and exploration of the city’s array of Christmas lights. Each year, the event features seasonal concessions and local vendors before the award-winning Sparkle Parade kicks off.
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Performers march down Galambos Way Dec. 7 during the Sparkle Sandy Springs parade and holiday celebration.
ATLANTA — Along with a looming tax increase, Fulton County is forecasting a roughly $57 million deficit in its proposed $1.05 billion operating budget for next year. Officials are predicting a roughly 4.5 percent property tax increase to make up for the shortfall. Fulton County operates on a calendar year budget. The County Commission approves annual operating or general fund budgets in January, then in August approves a property tax or millage rate to pay for it. Property taxes are the primary source of revenue for Fulton County’s general fund. The general fund pays for constituent services, including senior and behavioral health, the Grady Health System, the Sheriff’s Office and all jail facilities, election management, libraries and animal services. Next year’s proposed budget, months into its development, calls for spending $57 million of the county’s operating reserves, or about 25 percent of its rainy-day fund. Commissioners are expected to adopt the final 2026 budget at their Jan. 7 or Jan. 21 meeting.
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