Minutes of Hahira Council Meetings held during the month of July 2007
HAHIRA CITY COUNCIL
JULY 3, 2007
WORK SESSION
6:30 P.M. COURTHOUSE
Mayor and City Council met for a work session on Monday July 3, 2007, at the courthouse with Mayor Wayne Bullard presiding.
PRESENT: Mayor Wayne Bullard, Councils, Rose Adams, Ralph Clendenin, Terry Benjamin, Temple Ogundu, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, Police Chief Terry Davis, Fire Chief Dwight Bennett, PWD Donnie Warren. Diane Bellflower recorder absent.
Mayor Wayne Bullard called the meeting to order.
REVIEW/CORRECTION OF MINUTES:
City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that in the Council’s and Mayor packets they would find an e-mail from Greg Musgrove stating that all the street lights had been installed per contract with Georgia Power in Audubon Heights Subdivision, therefore he has approved and signed off on these. Therefore they are ready to be accepted by the City.
City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that back in May Council received a road paving list.
He stated that we did examine every road in town and made some additions to
the road paving list. He stated that there is a copy in your packet. He stated
that two of those streets had been covered by DOT LARP program this year. That
is Branch Street from 122 to Park Street and Webb Street to Lawson to highway
122. He stated he had a new proposal; there is a list of some additional
streets, which we have also identified with cost as well. He stated that we
are ready to move on paving if we can agree on which streets to do first. He
asked Council to give their input on their priorities for the next two years.
An estimated cost of what the bid packet would be was included in their
packet.
Councilwoman Adams stated that one of the city’s parks needed playground equipment. She asked the City Manager if he could get some quotes and prices on different playground equipment. City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that he could call several playground companies and get different prices and would present this to Council on Thursday night.
DEPARTMENT REQUESTS:
Public Works Director Donnie Warren stated that the city was out of cans for houses. Mayor Wayne Bullard asked about the garbage truck Warren stated that the truck was in the shop. Public Works Director Donnie Warren stated he had a quote for one hundred containers at $46.00 each, which comes to a total of $4,600.00. The quote is from Schaefer out of Charlotte North Carolina. City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that the city budgeted eighty thousand dollars for container replacements. Early this year Council approved an expenditure of $5000.00, so currently their is a balance of $75,000.00 for container replacements at this time
Fire Chief Dwight Bennett stated that the Hahira Fire Department has been selected as a recipient of the Target Safety Online Training Grant. With this award, the entire fire department will receive one year of online training from Target Safety at no cost. Chief Bennett stated that the fire department would continue to look for new grants.
REPORTS:
Councilman Ogundu stated that as we approach the budget year 2008, he would like to propose that the Special Events Coordinator report to the Downtown Development Committee for guidance and direction.
City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that the Council consider the Special Events Coordinator to work with the DDC but that the Coordinator should report to the City Manager, since it was a city funded position.
Mayor Wayne Bullard stated that SPLOST is coming back up. He stated that City Manager Jonathan Sumner and he had been attending some meetings. The cities prepared a proposal for a total collection of 78 million. This proposal included the City of Hahira getting 4.1 million, the City of Remerton 2.3 million, Lake Park getting 886.000, the City of Dasher getting 1.168 million, and the County getting 96 million. The cities were asked to send in another estimate. They countered with a proposal of Valdosta at 60 million, Dasher at 1.05 million, Hahira at 2.4 million, Lake Park at 711,000, and the City of Remerton at 1.272 million. The proposal did not state what the County would receive. They could receive approximately 119 million. This is what is going to happen when the SPLOST money comes out. City Manager Jonathan Sumner attended the meeting and the proposal was approved by unanimous vote. This will come before the voters in September. Mayor Wayne Bullard stated that the cities would meet again and decide which way to go.
Seeing no further business, Council adjourned.
Wayne Bullard, Mayor
Diane Bellflower, Clerk
HAHIRA CITY COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING
JULY 5, 2007
7:30 P.M.
COURTHOUSE
Present: Mayor Wayne Bullard, Council Terry Benjamin, Temple Ogundu, Ralph Clendenin, Rose Adams, Police Chief Terry Davis, Fire Chief Dwight Bennett, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, City Attorney Rob Plumb.
Mayor Wayne Bullard called the meeting to order. A quorum was established.
Pledge of Allegiance: Chief Terry Davis
Invocation: Mr. Wilmon Stanley
REVIEW/CORRECTION OF MINUTES:
Councilman Ogundu made a motion to accept the bills, seconded by Councilman Clendenin, vote was unanimous.Mayor Wayne Bullard asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. There were none. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Councilman Ogundu made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Councilwoman Adams. Vote was unanimous.
REVIEW OF BILLS/BUDGETS OVERAGES
Councilwoman Adams had a question about the consulting fees.
Mayor Wayne Bullard asked for a motion to accept the bills.
CITIZENS TO BE HEARD:
Mr. Wilmon Stanley of 308 Washington Street Hahira asked the Council to stand strong in their negotiations with SPLOST VI.
DISCUSSIONS:
City Manager stated that in Council’s packet there was a recommendation from the City engineering firm to accept the streetlights in Audubon Heights. An inspection was made and there did not appear to be any area that was lacking adequate lights. Mayor Wayne Bullard asked for a motion to accept the streetlights. Councilman Clendenin made a motion to accept, seconded by Councilman Benjamin, vote was unanimous.
City Manager Sumner talked to Council about the road paving priority list that needs addressing around town. Sumner asked for some guidance on which top two roads the Council wanted paved this year. City Manager Sumner suggested that we pave about two streets per year until the SPLOST money is spent out. City Manager Sumner suggested that we could start with Hall Street, and come back in September or October and see how much money we have left to continue. Councilman Ogundu made a motion to pave Hall Street, second by Councilman Clendenin, vote was unanimous.
Councilwoman Adams stated that the playground on W. Stanfil Street had no functioning playground equipment. City Manager Sumner stated there were three quotes in Council packets for the price of the playground equipment. These prices include the equipment being installed. Mayor Wayne Bullard asked for a motion to accept the playground equipment. Councilwoman Adams made a motion to accept the playground equipment proposed by Miracle, seconded by Councilman Clendenin, vote was unanimous.
Mayor Pro Tem Ogundu stated that he would like to see Helen get involved with the Downtown Development Committee and attend the meetings. Councilwoman Adams stated if Ms. Helen Pettijean had to become a member of this committee she should be paid to attend meetings. Councilwoman Adams stated that the two entities should be kept separate. Discussion followed. Mayor Wayne Bullard asked for a motion,
(City Manager)
City Manager Sumner stated that our City Attorney is not present tonight, but all the local governments have received a packet from the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners. It is a request to maintain the status quo, or service delivery agreement. If we do not sign an extension for our Service Delivery agreement we could come out of compliance with the state and enter into some ineligibility for some grants. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion, Councilman Benjamin made a motion to accept this agreement, seconded by Councilman Ogundu, vote was unanimous.
DEPARTMENT REQUEST:
Refuse Collection Container Replacement (PWD Warren)
PWD Warren stated that the city needed to purchase some new trash containers. He has an estimate for 100 trashcans at $46.00 each making that a total of $4600.00. Mayor Wayne Bullard asked for a motion to accept this bid to purchase the trash containers. Councilman Ogundu made a motion to accept and purchase the trash containers, seconded by Councilman Clendenin, vote was unanimous.
Commendation to Chief Bennett for Receipt of Grant:
Fire Chief Dwight Bennett stated that the Hahira Fired Department has been selected as a recipient of the Target Safety Online Training Grant. With this award, the entire fire department will receive one year of online training from Target Safety at no cost. Chief Bennett stated that the fire department would continue to look for new grants.
REPORTS:
Councilwoman Adams stated that she would like to thank Chief Bennett for the Grant that he received for his department.
Councilman Terry Benjamin thanked former Council member Mr. Michael Bryant for attending. Councilman Benjamin also thanked Chief Bennett for the grant his department received. He also stated the training in Savannah was very informative.
Councilman Ogundu also thanked Chief Bennett for the grant his department received. He also thanked the Police Chief and PWD Donnie Warren for a job well done. He commended the City Manager for doing an excellent job.
Councilman Clendenin also thanked the Fire Chief for doing a good job and receiving the grant for the fire department. He reminded the Council that budget time was also coming up.
City Manager Sumner stated that he thanked the Mayor and Council for their confidence in him. He stated that they would have a budget within ten days. The Council will need to make a decision on the millage rate.
Mayor Wayne Bullard thanked everyone for their hard work. He also stated how glad he was to have the ditch fixed. He stated that he would continue to follow up with SPLOST.
With no other business the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M.
Wayne Bullard, Mayor
Clerk, Diane Bellflower
Public Hearing
July 26, 2007
11:30 A.M.
City Hall
Mayor Wayne Bullard and Council met for a Public Hearing at City Hall at 11:30 A.M. July 26, 2007.
Present: Mayor Wayne Bullard, Council Temple Ogundu, Terry Benjamin, Ralph Clendenin, and Rose Adams. City Manager Jonathan Sumner, City Clerk Diane Bellflower, and one citizen Mr. Seab Miller.
Mayor Wayne Bullard called the meeting to order. He stated that the purpose of this meeting was a Public Hearing to discuss the millage rate. He asked if there was any one who wanted to speak.
City Manager Jonathan Sumner passed out a sheet from the tax office. It breaks it down according to the house value. He stated that the add ran in the newspaper was very misleading. He explained that this was broken down into two separate groups. The first group is property without homestead, and the second group is property with homestead. He also gave everyone a copy of the proposed budget for the year 2008. He explained that our budget was divided into two separate categories. One is the general fund and the other the proprietary fund that is supposed to pay for itself. The millage rate is revenue that affects the general fund. He stated that it was decided not to raise the millage rate last year. The budget was balanced using the amount of One Hundred Forty Three Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars. This is money that we have not used yet. City Manager Sumner did explain that we might have to use this money this year. City Manager Sumner explained that all of our money goes into one account, which is pooled cash for revenue, and as it is paid out for the year it goes to certain line items. Councilman Clendenin asked how we could cut cost so we do not have to spend this money. City Manager stated that he had talked with the Department Heads and asked them to cut back on spending for the next six to eight weeks. Councilwoman Adams had a concern for the cuts being made in the budget to the Police Department, Fire Department, and Public Works Department, and then other departments being raised such as Administration, Legislative, and Executive. Councilwoman Adams asked if we keep the millage rate at 5.380 what will Mayor and Council have to do to balance the budget. City Manager Sumner stated that we would need to look at each department and he would need some guidance on what to cut and where to go. Councilman Clendenin and Councilwoman Adams wanted to know how come the increase was so high in Administration, Legislative, and Executive. Councilwoman Adams wanted to know how come Administration, Legislative, and Executive could not stay the same and keep the millage rate the same. City Manager Sumner said there were some items that we could look at and maybe cut. He stated that he would be glad to discuss salary wages and other items in executive session. City Manager Sumner stated that he had done a study on certain cities the size of Hahira and found out that we were about 20% lower on salaries than other cities our size.
City Manager Jonathan Sumner stated that the purpose of the two meeting today is to gather input from the public how we feel the millage rate should be raised. Councilwoman Adams wanted to know what is the advantage for the citizens if we pass this millage rate. How much better off is the citizen going to be. Mayor Wayne Bullard stated that they would be getting the same service. He stated in the last six or seven years we have not raised taxes.
Mayor Wayne Bullard asked the public if they had any questions concerning raising the millage rate. Mr. Seab Miller asked the question do will sell water to people outside the city limits. Mayor Wayne Bullard stated we sell to J.C. Cowart, Chancey and several more. Residential water outside the city limits is $15.00. City Manager Sumner reminded the Council that discussions of water, sewer and tap fees are affecting the proprietary fund, which is not supported by millage rate. The millage rate goes to the general fund. Councilwoman Adams stated that if it could be shown to her that the service in Hahira would be increased and improved she would be all for the increase in the millage rate. Mayor Wayne Bullard stated that the citizens would be getting better service.
There being no further business to discuss, meeting adjourned at 12:30 P.M.
Mayor, Wayne Bullard
Clerk, Diane Bellflower
PUBLIC HEARING
JULY 26, 2007
6:00 P.M.
CITY HALL
Council met for a Public Hearing at City Hall at 6:00 P.M. July 26, 2007.
PRESENT: Councilwoman Adams, Councilman Clendenin, Councilman Ogundu, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, Diane Bellflower City Clerk, Fire Chief Dwight Bennett, Kellie for the Valdosta Daily Times, and Mr. Bill Cole, 575 Bryson Circle.
City Manager Sumner called the meeting to order. He stated that the purpose of this meeting was a public hearing to discuss the millage rate. He asked if there was anyone who wanted to speak. City Manager Sumner asked everyone in attendance to state their name.
City Manager Sumner stated that he passed out a couple of handouts. He stated the purpose of the Public Hearing is the second of three. Public Hearings that have been advertised in the Valdosta Daily Times, the first advertisement ran last week and notified the citizens of the two Public Hearings today. The second advertisement will run tomorrow and we will advertise the third Public Hearing, which will be held on August 2, 2007 at 7:30 P.M. at the Courthouse.
City Manager Sumner stated the two handouts that were given out are the City of Hahira tax breakdown and the 2008 proposed budget. He explained the two groups of numbers. The first group is property without homestead exemption with a millage increase of 1.5. Right now the proposed maximum millage rate being proposed at this time is 1.5 mils. The tax office notified us that you can advertise for a higher millage and then reduce it by the time it is voted on, but you cannot advertise and lower millage rate and then increase it. The property with homestead exemption is the second group of numbers. At this time our millage rate is at 5.38. Chief Bennett asked if he had homestead exemption this would only raise his taxes about $48.00 a year. City Manager Sumner stated that is correct. The millage rate is prepared as a component of the budget. The budget is your second attachment. The budget is divided into two funds. The first being the General Fund which is the Police Department, Fire Department, Street Department as well as the Administration. The other is the proprietary fund. This includes your water, sewer and trash pick up.
Councilman Clendenin asked the City Manager if we were going to raise water rates. City Manager Sumner stated that there are no raised rates projected in the current budget. Councilman Clendenin stated that housing was down 6.6% and we cannot continue to count on sewer taps. Mr. Bill Cole asked how many houses were built this year and how do you build this into your revenue. City Manager Sumner stated that tap fees collected were for about one hundred houses. Councilman Clendenin asked the City Manger to find out how much reserve we have in the proprietary fund Councilwoman Adams stated also that the Mayor brought up a good point to remember that the County is also going to raise there millage rate 1%. City Manager Sumner stated that the City had One Hundred Forty Three Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars in savings. Councilman Clendenin wanted to know what this money was for. City Manager Sumner stated for natural disaster. A long lack of period of revenue.
Councilman Ogundu explained that the City has an auditor, and engineer, an attorney. He stated each time a Council member calls we are charged for this service. He stated that several Council members are calling at different times. So since the City is trying to save money talk to the City Manager first maybe he has the answer.
City Manager Sumner stated that the budget does not have to be adopted until September 30, 2007. After the Council sets the millage rate next Thursday we will enter into a period of budget workshops.
City Manager Sumner stated that this meeting was to discuss the millage rate not the actual proposed budget. Councilman Ogundu suggest we not get into the budget at this time. He stated he had not had enough time to go over it. He stated he had several questions for the City Manager about the proposed budget but not at this time. Councilwoman Adams was concerned with the increase of Administration, Legislative, and Executive. City Manager Sumner stated he would be glad to discuss this with her are any other Council member in executive session, or she could come to his office to discuss this. City Manager Sumner if there was no further business that this meeting was adjourned.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 P.M.
Mayor, Wayne Bullard
City Clerk, Diane Bellflower
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