>> CITY OF MILLEDGEVILLE
The Milledgeville City Council met on Tuesday to discuss the Land Bank contract and listen to budget presentations from Milledgeville Mainstreet, Milledgeville Fire Rescue and Public Works.
All board members were present for the meeting, excluding Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan. The meeting was led by Mayor Pro-tem Steve Chambers.
The meeting began with discussion of the Land Bank contract and desired changes. City Manager Hank Griffeth suggested the edit of including four city appointees rather than three to even out the Land Bank board and to change some language in the contract regarding properties and how they may be gifted or sold to nonprofit organizations. He suggested that the nonprofits should have a specialty in housing, which is not currently specified in the contract.
District 1 representative Dr. Collinda Lee, District 2 representative Jeanette Walden and District 3 representative Denise Shinholster expressed multiple concerns about the intergovernmental contract including how properties may be sold/gifted, how the public can be informed to have optimal opportunities to purchase the property and having equal representation on the Land Bank board between the city and county. Currently, the contract has five county appointees and three city appointees for the board.
No final decisions were discussed, but the board seemed supportive of Griffeth’s suggested changes.
Moving into budget presentations, Director of Milledgeville Main Street Carlee Schulte came forward and gave updates on needed funding and funding being collected. Schulte requested funding for dues and fees for training and an increase in public relations, neither with a specified amount. She further reported that Main Street has been working to raise funds though yearly sponsorships and this year received over $30,000 in sponsorships. Additionally, Main Street raised about $10,000 from their Polar Express event.
Upcoming, Main Street is currently working on their itinerary for Georgia Cities Week, and they just completed their annual burger week downtown. Milledgeville Main Street is also working to get Sidewalk Dining approved and to provide pedestrian beacons downtown. These beacons flash for a short period of time after someone presses a button. According to Schulte, these beacons would be placed on the 100 block of East and West Hancock Street, the 100 block of North and South Wayne Street and on Franklin Street behind Georgia Military College.
Following Schulte, three representatives from Milledgeville Fire Rescue came forward to ask for an increased salary and changes to job positions being offered. One major request is for a new assistant fire marshal position to balance leadership duties and create a higher chain of command. Milledgeville Fire Rescue is also hoping to obtain the Class 2 Fire Department accreditation when the Insurance Services Office visits in 2024.
Battalion Chief Ronald Crooms spoke to the board about the investments and requirements with training and onboarding a new employee. This investment comes out to roughly $32,000 for each new employee. According to Milledgeville Fire Chief William Collier, this investment takes at least three years of service to be returned to Milledgeville Fire Rescue; however, there is no guarantee that new employees will stay that long. With competitive salaries in bordering counties, there is less incentive to stay.
Battalion Chief David Ussery spoke about the power of the workforce and how Milledgeville Fire Rescue came together to sustain the revitalized fire stations by working on construction without extra pay. He further spoke about the loyalty, strength, and dedication of the entire team and how these qualities make them sustainable as a force. He proposed the simple solution to solve the concerns about increasing salary pay would be to use the CARES act money to pay for an increase in salary to begin with and plan ahead from there.
Finally, Director of Public Works Timothy Thomas, along with a large group of public works employees, presented to the council the need for a master plan and competitive salaries.
According to Thomas, the city is in need of a plan of action to ensure development and growth within the city and the support of his employees. He also stressed the need for competitive pay and the city’s deteriorating development due to short-time fixes.
As an example, Thomas highlighted that an average of 4-5 water leaks occur each month, and that is due to pipes being momentarily fixed rather than the water and sewer systems being updated. He also spoke about the aging equipment available to them and how this equipment has set them back on numerous jobs.
Under the master plan, he asked for a new position of a public works inspector that would help to identify the city’s weak areas of infrastructure. He also inquired about new and updated equipment, like an excavator, and offering a more competitive pay of $16.49 per hour. According to Thoams, the base salary for most Public Works employees is $15.49 in various locations in the state.
All of these budget presentations will be taken into consideration and discussed in more detail by the council as they prepare their FY24 budget. Currently, there is no budget discussion on the April 25 agenda, but Chambers ensured presenters that they understand the issues being faced and are taking the matter of potential pay increases and new equipment into serious consideration.