Originally published 6/20/2018
An interesting article came out today by Jason Combs on Savannah Now. He took a look at the city budget and noted that one of the items driving city spending is $70 million that has been allocated for new fire stations.
You read that right – 70. Million.
He includes an interesting map that shows many of the new fire stations are to the west of the city proper.
Also quoted in the article is Kevin Klinkenberg, director of the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority (SDRA), who stated “We have about 2 square miles here (in Savannah) that generate about a third of the city’s property tax revenue, and a majority of the lodging and sales tax. We have effectively over 100 square miles (of city) that doesn’t produce enough revenue to support them(selves).”
Click Here for the full article.
Also up on Savannah Now is an article by Nick Palumbo that takes a close look at some of the other culprits behind the increase in city spending, including splitting the Chatham County and Savannah Police organizations, a new fleet of vehicles for a little over $9 million, and a $183 million capital improvement program.