Work that Milledgeville’s mayor and city council began in spring 2023 is about to come to fruition with the adoption of ordinances and updated fee schedules.
Three ordinances had their first readings at Tuesday’s council meeting and will be on the agenda Aug. 27 for a vote. They include adjustments to water and sewer fees, alcohol licenses, and building permits and related services. The council also approved a resolution increasing the fees for the parks, Marketplace Pavilion, and Oconee Greenway.
Council members discussed the need for a water and sewer increase during the 2023-24 budget process after City Manager Hank Griffeth briefed the mayor and council on his proposals in a work session in January. Griffeth said then that revenue shortfalls dictated what would amount to a 35% increase in rates, and the decision was made to implement higher costs for consumers on a three-year schedule.
“The fees were set on needs based on the revenue needs for the anticipated bond issuance and the necessary timing on the revenue collections,” Griffeth explained on Tuesday. “Mayor and council asked that they be phased in over a three-phase period, and it was anticipated the first phase would begin July 1.”
However, that did not happen for a number of reasons, Griffeth said.
“I have suggested that the first phase go into effect Jan. 1 due to the possibility it will be easier for individuals and businesses to budget the increase at the beginning of the year,” Griffeth said, adding that Phases 2 and 3 will take effect July 1 of 2025 and 2026, respectively.
Based on figures in the proposed ordinance, the cost of alcohol licenses will increase significantly. Licenses for liquor, packaged to go, will almost double, from $3,025 to $6,000, while the annual fee for liquor consumed on the premises will double from $2,000 to $4,000.
Currently, 11 liquor stores operate in Milledgeville, representing an approximate annual increase of nearly $33,000 in revenue for the city from those license holders alone.
For beer or other malt beverages, as well as wine, the cost of a license for “to go” sales will jump from $400 to $1,000, while it will double to $800 for consumption on premises.
If adopted, the ordinance regulating building permit fees calls for more moderate increases. For example, the permit for a home valued at between $100,001 and $500,000 would increase from $1,027 to $1,200 for the first $100,000 and from $7 to $8 for each additional $1,000 in value or fraction thereof thereafter. Thus, for a home valued at $300,000, the permit fee would go from $2,427 to $2,800.
Griffeth said no estimates of additional revenue from the increase in permit fees is available at this time.
“Permitting has slowed tremendously with the economy,” he pointed out. “So, it is hoped these increases will, at least, help stay equal to recent previous years. But they last went up in 2017, so the time was certainly ripe to consider increases.”
Comparatively speaking, the fees for the parks are inexpensive, but most are set to double, according to the resolution. Central City Park and Huley Park will double from $25 to $50 for four hours and from $50 to $100 per day. The Central City Park baseball field can now be rented only by the day at a cost of $100, and the Oconee River Greenway fee will increase to $100 for four hours and $200 all day.
The biggest increase will be at Marketplace Pavilion, which no longer will offer a four-hour rate, instead jumping from $50 to $150 per day.
“It has built-in power, which was never considered in the rent previously,” Griffeth explained. “The actual original resolution never allowed that. The website will be updated when the new fees are approved.”
The new schedule for the parks includes a general event fee as well as a revenue-generating or sponsored event fee for all the facilities. Again, the Oconee River Greenway is most expensive at $200 and $400, respectively.
All new fees are effective immediately.
Griffeth acknowledged increasing the various fees was a topic of discussion during the 2023-24 budget sessions. “Since the millage rate was raised with that budget, the thought was to hold off on fees until the 2024-2025 budget, which is what has happened,” he said.
City council member Walter Reynolds said the increases are needed and are not out of line.
“The additional revenue generated by these changes will help us sustain the more competitive salaries being offered to city staff – particularly police and fire departments – which are the largest parts of our annual budget,” he said. “The new rates are in line with communities of a similar size and makeup and, in some cases, still below what those peer communities have set for their alcohol license fees.
“As for water rates,” Reynolds continued, “those charges have not changed in quite some time and are some of the lowest in the state.”
Reynolds stressed the water and sewer rate hikes are needed equally as much as all other fee increases.
“As everyone knows, we need to make improvements to the water plant and the distribution system,” he stated. “In order to make improvements more quickly, we will likely need to seek municipal financing options and have funds to cover those improvement costs.”
The new water and sewer rate chart will be more complex. All sizes of meters are currently charged the same rate for water and sewage disposal; however, effective Jan. 1, the larger the meter, the higher the charge.
For residential users with the smallest meters, their cost will go from $12.89 per month for up to 3,000 gallons, to $17.37 per month plus $3.84 per 1,000 gallons used monthly on the second increase, effective July 1, 2026.