The Tucker City Council conducted a budget hearing at its April 28 meeting regarding its 2026 operating and capital budget that included several refinements to its first draft that was presented at the April 14 meeting.
“As you know we have infinitely more requests for expenditures than we have monies in the budget,” Tucker City Manager John McHenry said during the presentation.
He reiterated that the 2026 did not include monies for building a pickleball facility at Tucker Recreation Center, an issue that has been opposed by residents living near the proposed facility.
Several changes were made from the initial preliminary budget recommendations, including:
- Monies for the Tucker Northlake Trail was lowered to include appropriate funding for the right-of-way phase only:
- Old Norcross Sidewalk expenditures were reduced by $100,000;
- The original amount requested for the Tucker City Guidebook Implementation was corrected with $200,000 added in 2026;
- The original recommendation for the Montreal Road and Montreal Industrial Way Sidewalks will be now funded using the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax 1 Fund;
- Resurfacing was updated to include additional funding from the Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG);
“As we travel through the budget process, it may be necessary to update the revenue or expenditure amounts listed in previous drafts when new or revised information is received,” a staff memo presented to the council said. “Care will be taken to detail these changes and provide updates to the mayor and council when they occur.”
McHenry said the approved 2025 tax digest from DeKalb County Board of Tax Assessors will be delivered to the taxing jurisdictions around May 1, which could change anticipated revenues.
In other action, the council:
- Heard an interim financial report that includes revenues and expenditures through March, which represents 75 percent of the city’s annual budget activity. Financial Director Beverly Hilton said revenues from the general fund is within expectations and that program fees for the Tucker Parks and Recreation Department have far exceeded expectations;
- Listened to a presentation from McHenry about upcoming agenda items, which may include further discussion of a variance for Luxe Events, which has been vetted at earlier meetings;
- Approved a resolution to add 16 parcels to the Tucker Summit Community Improvement District.
