The devil is in the details is the old saying and when it comes to governmental budgets, the minutiae of the document are really where the details are found.

• Franklin’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider on the first of three readings the city’s proposed $52.2 million general fund budget, which reflects an 11.3 percent increase in expenditures over the current year’s budget, while revenues are up 9 percent over the 2005-06 budget.

• Brentwood has proposed a general fund budget of $27.2 million, which reflects an 8.5 percent increase from the FY 2006 budget. That city has already started the approval process of the budget. A penny on that city’s tax rate will generate $181,285 and officials expect the average property tax bill for city taxpayers to be $515 based on an average value of $420,000, Walker said.

• In Spring Hill, the city’s general fund budget is $6.06 million, according to City Administrator Ken York, who said it represents an increase of 26.02 percent. His city is counting on an increase in that city’s state and local option sales tax collections since the city decreased the property tax rate to zero several years ago.

All three of these cities, as well as Williamson County government officials have said they can accomplish their 2006-07 fiscal year goals without a property tax increase, thanks in part to expansion of the county property rolls, with housing starts continuing at all-time highs in the cities and the county.

Franklin’s budget document is 144 pages, while Brentwood’s is 332 pages. If you ever wanted to know anything about government in either of these cities, the information is there, from terminology to graphs detailing the reasons for police department calls for service to a chart that shows how the road mileage in the city of Franklin has grown since 1994.

None of the governments are proposing a tax increase, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but officials need to keep an eye on the reliance on other revenue sources, such as sales tax revenue should the economy take a turn. While other areas are reporting decreases in sales tax collections, Williamson County and its municipalities continue to see increased revenue due to the growing Cool Springs area, as well as revitalization of other areas, such as Town Center in Brentwood, Campbell Station in Spring Hill and other pockets of development in communities like Thompson’s Station, Fairview and Nolensville.

The county recently completed a reappraisal of the county’s property, with the total appraised value of property in Williamson County tripling within the last 10 years to $21 billion plus, a number that just missed pushing the county into the fourth-place spot of counties in Tennessee, according to Dennis Anglin, the county’s property assessor.

Following a reappraisal, state law dictates that each city must establish a certified property tax rate that will generate the same tax levy as last year (prior to new taxable improvements) using the new assessed value of property.

For most cities, and certainly those where residential and business growth are occurring at a rapid pace, that means the tax rate is decreased. In Brentwood, that city’s property assessment tops $1.8 billion and Brentwood City Manager Mike Walker has said his city’s tax rate will drop from its current property tax rate of 59 cents to 49 cents following the reappraisal.

In Franklin, the total property assessment for property inside the city topped $2.1 billion, exceeding for the first time the $2 billion mark after phenomenal growth in the city within the last six years has seen the city’s value grow from $1 billion in 2001 to more than $2 billion in 2006.

Franklin is the only city within Williamson County with a total value above $2 billion, a fact reflected somewhat in their budget revenue figures, where sales tax revenue provides 46 percent of the city’s general fund revenue.

The proliferation of sales tax dollars certainly lightens the burden on a property owner, but officials need to make sure enough diversity exists among revenue sources that should a hiccup in the economy impact this revenue stream that others are flowing smoothly enough to cover the shortfall without unduly increasing the burden on taxpayers.