DALTON, Ga. — The city of Dalton spends $887 per resident, compared to an average of $960 for six cities in a study being conducted by PFM Group, a consulting firm from Chattanooga, forathe Dalton City Council.

Earlier this year, the council hired PFM Group to review all aspects of city government. The firm’s final report hasn’t been finished yet. But council members have already gotten data on how Dalton stacks up on a number of metrics compared to five other cities across the Southeast chosen for their similar size to Dalton: Danville, Va., Florence, Ala., Gainesville, Rome and Salisbury, N.C.

The report found Gainesville spends $702 per resident and Rome spends $562. Danville had the highest per capita spending at $1,742 per resident.

Big differences show up in how those cities spend their money.

Dalton spends 52.6 percent of its budget on public safety, the fire department and police department. The only other city to spend more than half its general fund budget on public safety was Gainesville, which spent 61.2 percent of its budget on public safety.

“The cities I am most concerned with are Rome and, especially, Gainesville,” said council member Denise Wood. “Like us, Gainesville has a large Hispanic population. But even that isn’t really an apples-to-apples comparison because we have a different mix of industries, and they probably have more of an influence from the metro Atlanta area.”

Dalton reported the lowest violent crime rate and the second-lowest property crime rate among the six cities in the study. In 2015, Dalton had 2.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Gainesville had the second-lowest violent crime rate with 4.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Dalton had 34 property crimes per 1,000 residents. Gainesville had the lowest property crime rate, with 19 property crimes per 1,000 residents.

“I’m not surprised the crime here is so low,” said council member Tyree Goodlett. “I feel safe. I’m not afraid to let my children play outside.”

The study also found some trends that, while worrisome, weren’t surprising, say council members.

For instance, in 2010, Dalton had the highest median household income of all six cities in the study, $38,798. But by 2015, Dalton’s median household income had fallen to $35,074, below every city except Danville and Rome.

In 2010, Dalton had the second-highest median owner-occupied home value of any city in the study, $145,000. By 2015, Dalton’s median owner-occupied home value had fallen to $122,500, below every city except Danville and Salisbury.

Dalton was in last place among the six cities in the share of adults with a high school diploma or higher, and next to last place, below Danville, in the share of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

“That information has been very interesting,” said Mayor Dennis Mock. “It’s something we’ve already been discussing informally among ourselves, and it’s something we have been discussing with the candidates for city administrator that we have been interviewing.”

Council members say they expect to have a final report from PFM Group within about a week. That will include not only more data but recommendations for reforms of city government.

“The council will discuss those recommendations and meet with other stakeholders to develop a plan of action,” said Mock. “We also hope to have a city administrator on board soon to begin carrying out that plan and working on those reforms.”