Agenda for September 24^thMeetings

1. 2^ndReading and adoption of the Millage Rate
   1. Invocation – Amy Barrett
   2. Pledge of Allegiance
   3. Millage Rate Vote
   4. Adjourn
2. Public Hearing for Budget-Fiscal Year 2018-2019
3. September Work Session

HIAWASSEE MILLAGE RATE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
September 24^th, 2018

The Millage Rate Special Called Meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Upstairs Training Room by Mayor Liz Ordiales.

Present in addition to the Mayor, were Council members Anne Mitchell, Kris Berrong, Amy Barrett, and Nancy Noblet.  Patsy Owens was absent.  Staff members present were Police Chief Paul Smith, Police Officer John Carter, and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick.  Also in attendance was City Attorney Thomas Mitchell

The invocation was given by Amy Barrett and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The motion to set the Millage at the roll back rate of 2.170 was made by Council member Amy Barrett and seconded by Council member Kris Berrong.  Council members Amy Barrett, Nancy Noblet, and Kris Berrong voted for the motion and Council member Anne Mitchell voted against the motion.

Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Council member Anne Mitchell and seconded by Council member Nancy Noblet.  All Council members present were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 6:03pm.

HIAWASSEE CITY COUNCIL

2018-2019 Fiscal Budget Public Hearing
September 24^th, 2018

The Hiawassee City Council Budget Public Hearing Meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. in the City Hall Upstairs Training Room by Mayor Liz Ordiales.

Present in addition to the Mayor, were Council members Anne Mitchell, Kris Berrong, Amy Barrett, and Nancy Noblet.  Patsy Owens was absent.  Staff members present were Police Chief Paul Smith, Police Officer John Carter, and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick.  Also in attendance was City Attorney Thomas Mitchell.

The invocation and Pledge of Allegiance were given in the previous meeting held this evening (Millage Rate Special Called Meeting).

The budget was presented to the public line by line by Mayor Ordiales.  She explained that the Funds (General, Water, Sewer, Water Treatment, Hotel/Motel and SPLOST ) must remain separate.  Income and expenses are specific to each fund and cannot be shared across funds.  Each fund mustbalance. 

General fund:

The real property income line will need to be reset to $164,000.00 from $183,000.00 due to the roll back of the millage rate.

General Fund consists of the general income and expense of the City, but also the Police department falls under the General Fund. When viewed separately, the General fund has a surplus of funds while the Police department is negative; however, together they come much closer to balancing.  Mayor Ordiales indicated that the Budget Underrun from the previous year is where we have a small cushion in case of an unforeseen event, but that it is not a substantial amount.  A citizen asked if the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) had a recommendation on the amount of reserve there should be in each fund.  Mayor Ordiales said that GMA suggests 4 months of operating expenses should be in reserve in each fund.

Suggestions for additional income:

A citizen asked if there had been any thought given to contributions at the boat ramp at Mayors Park.  Also suggestion was made that business might be willing to put banners up on the light poles at Mayors Park for a fee.

A suggestion was made to host a spaghetti dinner, but another citizen stated that it often doesn’t result in income and Council member Anne Mitchell said that she has done many and they are very labor intensive.

Council member Amy Barrett suggested that the Franchise fee from Blue Ridge Mountain EMC had not been collected before this year and that it should help with expenses in the General Fund.

There was some discussion about the delinquent tax payers and if it was possible to publish the list in the paper or place liens on the properties. Attorney Mitchell stated that liens are only effective when the property ownership changes.

Police expenses outpace income significantly with salary and salary related expenses being the greatest portion.

The General/Police funds having less reserve than the other funds took much of the discussion. Mayor Ordiales emphatically commented on the need to provide the employees a Cost of Living raise of 3% at minimum.  A new retirement fund is under consideration that would allow for employees to make contributions and the City to match up to 3%.  The total investment for both items would be approximately $18,000. The City will make adjustments as needed to fill these new endeavors. 

Hotel/Motel fund:

The ordinance change this year to retain more of the Hotel/Motel tax collection will change the expense structure.  The Chamber of Commerce will receive 40% of the proceeds of the tax and the remainder will be retained in the account. Mayor Ordiales would like to fund the Downtown Development effort from this new resource.  The City is looking to establish a partnership with the County and the City of Young Harris to share that resource. 

SPLOST:

SPLOST is no longer being collected so the amount that is in the account is all that will be available and most of that will be used for Mayors Park.  The SPLOST account has VERY specific areas where it can be spent and most of those are site improvements.

Water Fund:

The Water fund budget is the healthiest of the funds with the greatest reserve.  Mayor Ordiales explained that the Official/Administrative expense for this fund is made up of things like cleaning supplies, paper towels, and office supplies. Professional include the auditors, bookkeepers, and our Engineering firm who are now working on permits to increase the water withdrawal from the lake. General Supplies are pipes, fastener, straw and grass seed. Debt Service is a significant portion of the expense – these are the payments on the outstanding loans. 

Sewer Fund:

Addressing the Sewer fund budget Mayor Ordiales made note that the Management fees will be cut in half once Clint Royce passes the next test for his certification.  General supplies for the Sewer fund are also predominantly the chemicals to treat the sewage coming into the plant.  The Professional expense includes the auditors, bookkeepers and the Engineering firm who are engaged in the Expansion project.  The cost of electricity is a significant expense for the Sewer fund and there is also Debt Service expense (Loan payments).

Water Treatment Fund:

The Water Treatment fund income mainly comes from selling water to the City and Towns County Water Authority.  The TCWA has agreed to the increase in water charges based on the cost to produce the water.  The expenses of the Water Treatment fund are similar to Water and Sewer funds; Official/Administrative consists of cleaning supplies, office supplies; General Supplies and Materials are supplies for treating the water; Electricity is a major expense.  There is also Debt Service (loan payments) from this fund.

There being no other questions or comments, the motion to adjourn was made by Council member Anne Mitchell, seconded by Council member Amy Barrett, with all present in favor.  Meeting adjourned at 7:10pm

HIAWASSEE WORK SESSION AGENDA
September 24^th, 2018

The September Work Session Meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall Upstairs Training Room

1. Call to order
   • Mayor’s Introductions of Guests and Announcements
   • Motion to Adopt Final Agenda as Distributed.

2. Old Business
   • Mayor’s Report
   • Halloween event
   • BASSMASTER Event – Live ESPN3

3. Police Department Report 
4. New Business
   • Light Up Hiawassee – Dec 1, 20182PM - ???  - Nancy Noblet
   • Municode Update Ordinance
   • July Financials
   • Consent Agenda for Tuesday Oct. 2^ndwill consist of: 
     • Minutes from: 
       • September 4^thMillage Rate Public hearings (10AM and 2PM Meetings)
       • September 4^thCouncil Meeting
       • September 11^thMillage Rate Public Hearing 6PM
       • September 11^thSpecial Called Meeting for 1^streading of Millage Rate 6:30PM
       • September 24^thSpecial Called Meeting for 2^ndReading of Millage Rate 6PM
       • September 24^thBudget Public Hearing minutes 
       • September 24^thWork Session Minutes 
     • July Financials 

5. Motion to Adjourn

HIAWASSEE WORK SESSION

Minutes
September 24^th, 2018

The September Work Session Meeting was called to order at 7:17 p.m. in the City Hall Upstairs Training Room by Mayor Liz Ordiales.

Present in addition to the Mayor, were Council members Anne Mitchell, Kris Berrong, Amy Barrett, and Nancy Noblet.  Patsy Owens was absent.  Staff members present were Police Chief Paul Smith, Police Officer John Carter, and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick.  Also in attendance was City Attorney Thomas Mitchell.

The invocation and Pledge of Allegiance were given in the previous meeting held this evening (Millage Rate Special Called Meeting).

Motion to approve the final agenda as distributed was made by Council member Anne Mitchell, seconded by Council member Nancy Noblet with all present in favor

The Mayor’s report included the 5^thgrade after school program visit to City Hall and the Water Treatment plant tour, Hometown Connection meeting (Legislators come to hear what municipalities need and/or want them to focus on during the session. Mayor Ordiales asked if they would consider changing the way that GDOT grants are allocated.  Currently they are allocated based on the miles of roadway you have, but it doesn’t take into consideration the number of vehicles that pass over those roadways), We have received the first Serv-Line Insurance check, Mayors Park update (signs/picnic benches, but no dog park.  TVA will not permit), repairs to the City Square (leveling the walkways to fix the trip hazards), WE GOT THE PLANFIRST DESIGNATION!!, Scarecrows on the Square contest being sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce; the BASSMASTER event is over- banner with all entrants’ signatures is on the wall in the Training Room. Sandra Green may be doing a haunted house in the Old Rock Jail for Halloween and Mayor Ordiales is talking with the Commissioner about doing the trick or treating at the courthouse instead of on the Square.  The benefits would be that parking spaces around the square would be available for parking, the trick or treaters could easily participate in the haunted house and we would not have children and families crossing Main Street (Route 76) from parking at Ingles and Eller’s.

Chief Paul Smith gave the police report including a heroin drug bust.  The Chief also gave a Public Service Notice – If someone one calls you and say they are going to give you money they are probably lying to you.  One such incident is under investigation by Federal authorities and there is another that has been turned over to the GBI.  These are open investigations and he was not at liberty to go into any detail.  Hiawassee Police Dept will be hosting Governors Safety Event, tourniquets will be distributed and instructions on use are in training session.

Light Up Hiawassee will be held on Dec 1, 2018 from 2PM until pictures with Santa are done.  Council member Nancy Noblet is heading up the event.  There will be craft vendors selling their wares on the square. Start (or finish up) your Christmas shopping.

Municode Update; it is done!  They have provided us with bound books for our ordinances. We will have an ordinance next week to put it the code on the website. Attorney Mitchell informed us that searching for ordinances is very easy with the Municode library and approximately 100 Georgia jurisdictions are currently using Municode.

July Financials look good.  Overall we are $10,000 receivables over expenses for July. They will be on the consent agenda for approval next week.

The Consent Agenda for Tuesday Oct. 2^ndwill also consist of: 

Minutes from: 

August 16^thSpecial Called Meeting on the Millage rate

September 4^thMillage Rate Public hearings (10AM and 2PM Meetings)

September 4^thCouncil Meeting

September 11^thMillage Rate Public Hearing 6PM

September 11^thSpecial Called Meeting for 1^streading of Millage Rate 6:30PM

September 24^thSpecial Called Meeting for 2^ndReading of Millage Rate 6PM

September 24^thBudget Public Hearing minutes 

September 24^thWork Session Minutes 

There being no further business, motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Council member Nancy Noblet, seconded by Council member Anne Mitchell, with all present in favor.  Meeting adjourned at 7:40pm.