VARNELL, Ga. — Following a brief public hearing in which no members of the public spoke, members of the Varnell City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday night to adopt a $954,000 budget for 2018. That budget is basically flat, down $285.60 from the 2017 budget.

“We basically just tried to look back over the last five years and keep a five-year average,” said council member Ashlee Godfrey, the head of the city’s finance committee.

Administration is the largest item in the budget at $352,845, up from $344,058 in 2017. The police department is the second largest item at $305,444, down from $327,309 in 2017.

“The police department actually came in under budget last year, so we adjusted its budget accordingly,” Godfrey said.

Mayor Tom Dickson said he is “comfortable” with the budget.

“But we are going to be keeping an eye on it,” he said. “We have so many new people (on the council) who don’t have a background in the city’s finances that we may discover that we want to adjust it as we move forward into the year.”

Dickson and three of the five council members — Bill Caylor, Bob Roche and Clyde Williams — were elected last year and joined the council earlier this month.