A special called meeting of the Dawsonville City Council will be held at 4 p.m. today, at city hall, to hear public comment on the city’s proposed 2009-2010 budget.

City Administrator Kim Cornelison presented the proposed $1.16 million budget, which does not include a tax increase despite a decrease in revenue due to the economic downturn, on June 1.

A second special called meeting will be held at 4 p.m. on June 29 for the council to vote on formalizing the budget.

The proposed budget does not include any new staff or previously anticipated special purpose local option sales tax revenue from Dawson County.

Cornelison said the city has instead adjusted spending and cut staff to make up for lost dollars. “We’ve cut our staff alone by 25 percent. The problem is we still have the same volume of work, aside from permitting,” she said. “We’re assessing our bills and seeing what other expenses we can terminate.”

Employee benefits and policies have also been reviewed, Cornelison added.

“A lot of small cities and smaller counties have been hit hard in these times. Sales tax revenues are really hurting a lot of people,” she said.

No new major projects are anticipated to begin in 2009, although Cornelison said the city expects to continue improvements to city sidewalks along Allen Street and Academy Avenue.

The city’s last sidewalk project, which was partially grant-funded, came in under budget, according to Cornelison. The remaining funding could be used for additional sidewalks, she said.

The city’s 2009/2010 $1.16 million budget is down slightly, by about $73,000, from 2008-2009.

E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.