Columbus, Georgia

Georgia's First Consolidated Government

Post Office Box 1340
Columbus, Georgia, 31902-1340
(706) 653-4013
fax (706) 653-4016

Council Members

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

SPECIAL CALLED MEETING

APRIL 29, 2011



The regular weekly meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was called

to order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, April 29, 2011, on the Plaza Level of the

Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Honorable Teresa Pike Tomlinson, Mayor,

presiding.



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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Tomlinson were Councilors R. Gary Allen, Mike

Baker, Jerry Barnes, Glenn Davis, Berry H. Henderson, Bruce Huff, Charles E.

McDaniel, Jr., and Judy Thomas, City Manager Isaiah Hugley, City Attorney

Clifton Fay, Clerk of Council Tiny B. Washington and Deputy Clerk of Council

Sandra Davis were also present.

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Tomlinson.

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ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Evelyn Woodson was absent from

this meeting.

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City Attorney Fay said other than the Mayor presenting her budget; he has

one item that needs to have Council action taken. He pointed out that we

discussed this issue earlier in an executive session. He pointed out that the

developer will put in an additional retaining wall that will stabilize the wall

that was previously built. He also pointed out that he has signed an

encroachment agreement. He said he has a resolution for the Council?s approval.



Councilor Davis then moved approval of the resolution. Seconded by

Councilor Huff and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council

present for this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Woodson

being absent.



THE ABOVE ACTION APPROVED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION AS LISTED

BELOW:_____________________________________________________

A Resolution (169-11) ? Authorizing the City Manager, City Attorney and

Clerk of Council to execute an appropriate encroachment agreement or

appropriate amendments to the same, said agreement to be signed by developer

David B. Erickson and Grayhawk Homes, Inc., acknowledging said encroachment and

accepting responsibility and liability therefore.



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PRESENTATION OF THE MAYOR?S BUDGET:



Mayor Teresa Tomlinson the presented her 2012 proposed budget for the

Columbus Consolidated Government as outlined below.



The Mayor's recommended FY 2012 Budget is reduced by 8.66%, or $24,284,980

million: down from $280,084,085 in FY 2011 to $255,835,105 in FY 2012. This

reduction is due largely, but not entirely, to the 2009 Other Local Option

Sales Tax rollback requirement which inflated the budget in FY 2011. This year

we face several budget challenges. We are predicting a 2% decrease in our tax

digest. We expect our sales tax collections to remain flat; and, we anticipate

the State of Georgia, given its historic budget deficit, may push costs to our

municipality that it has traditionally carried. We recognize our revenue

predictions are conservative, but note that last year's predictions were

conservative as well and we overshot our estimate by .5%. We understand that

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) growth is coming; however, it has been

gradually coming our way for some time, and we have not yet seen the economic

effect that we believe will impact our community. Accordingly, this recommended

FY 2012 Budget adopts the conservative revenue predictions of our Finance

Director. Should better than expected economic trends and revenue come about,

we can make mid-year adjustments to our FY 2012 based on fact and not

expectation.

This FY 2012 Budget reflects a reasonable and measured function of government.

No longer can we subsidize with taxpayer dollars those Funds, affiliates or

entities that do not have a plan of sustainability. As I have said many times:

"Taxpayer dollars should not be just spent, they should be invested with a

clear return". Here we begin the long process of culling through our city's

budget to find those items where we can do better those areas where we can

reach a higher efficiency or maximize our assets through productive, mutually

beneficial partnerships.



This Budget also reflects a listing of priorities. A government is as good as

its foundation, and the Columbus Consolidated Government (CCG) is strong. To

maintain and build upon that foundation, we must preserve an operating reserve

that allows us to provide services to our citizens, while remaining confident

that we have the resources to do the job regardless of unexpected Federal or

State mandates or other unforeseen, and therefore unbudgeted, costs. We must

preserve our favorable bond rating, which encourages investment and provides

lower interest rates on bonds that will finance our future civic improvement.

We also must preserve the CCG retirement benefit in a way that is sustainable

and honors the trust our faithful employees have bestowed on us. And, while

making tough operational cuts, we must remember that our city employees are a

great asset to us and essential to our daily municipal functioning.



They must be given some sign of our acknowledgment and appreciation.

There are sacrifices requested herein, no doubt; but those sacrifices are an

economically necessary step toward a leaner, better, stronger city government.

Each sacrifice or challenge noted is met with a proposed solution for

improvement. We are a community which has always met our challenges and

maximized our opportunities. This Budget will strengthen our foundation and

prepare us for the growth and opportunity to come.



General Fund Reserve

The city's FY 2011 Budget anticipated that we would expend 14.17 days of our 90

day General Fund Reserve, bringing the Reserve down to 76.50 days. We are

expected, thankfully, to end the 2011 Fiscal Year with 81.57 days left in our

General Fund Reserve. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends a

minimum 60 day operating reserve. One of the factors used by bond rating

agencies to determine a municipality's bond rating is the ability to maintain,

at a minimum, a 60 day reserve. Currently, the Columbus Consolidated Government

(CCG) has an AA+ bond rating from Standard & Poor's and an AA2 bond rating from

Moody's. Our CCG bond ratings are impressive in this difficult economic time

wherein municipalities and states across the country find themselves living off

their reserves, unable to provide essential services to their citizens and

having had their bond ratings correspondingly downgraded. Columbus' favorable

bond rating makes it a bright spot for potential investment, and we must guard

that valuable asset.



This Budget sets as a priority maintaining our strong bond rating because we

expect in the near future to issue bonds for our new jail and for road

improvement projects, such as the Forrest Road improvement. Our bond rating

will affect the rate at which we will borrow money and the amount of our future

interest payments on any bonds issued. It also will affect the marketability of

any bond issue.

This Budget also sets as a priority a Reserve amount in excess of the

recommended 60 day minimum. This Budget preserves a 70.02 days General Fund

Reserve, which should allow us to maintain our bond rating and further allow us

to fund any unexpected costs during FY 2012.1 Each Reserve day is valued at

approximately $420,000.

Of the 11.55 days of General Fund Reserve consumed in this FY 2012 Budget, 7.87

days were previously committed in prior years and 3.61 days of reserve funds

were needed after extensive cuts and reductions to balance this Budget.



Pension Fund Considerations

One of the most significant hurdles in compiling this Budget is the demand of

our increasing employee costs through Pension Fund obligations. This year a $

27.8 million payment is required to assure the integrity of the city's

commitment to our employees' Defined Benefit Pension Plan. Our commitment to

this Defined Benefit Plan as it is currently structured may prove to be

unsustainable over the long term, as it may unduly drain the city's resources

given projected revenue. A long term, sustainable solution must be found -and

soon. As a member of the Pension Board, I have requested that the Board, which

includes employee representatives and city administrative staff, begin

analyzing options (including maintaining our current Plan) so that we may

provide a sustainable retirement benefit to our dedicated employees who have

served this city through the years. I also have consulted with our City

Attorney to ensure this analysis takes place according to the laws and

directives which govern our Pension Plan. That process has begun, and upon its

completion a report will be made to City Council regarding this complex issue

for Council's consideration, action and resolution.



In the meantime, I, as Mayor, face the competing obligations of our pension

responsibilities and our FY 2012 balanced budget. In order to balance these

obligations, I have recommended a reassessment of our Pension Fund commitment

from a "7-year to fully fund" period to a "15year fully fund period".3 this has

the mathematical effect offering up some $1,580,302

I million of FY 2012 pension obligation for the purpose of balancing the

General Fund budget without using the 3.77 days of reserve that would be

necessary to fund that amount otherwise.4

No one should believe that this somehow lessens our pension burden. And, no one

should believe that this somehow endangers our commitment to our Pension Fund.

It is the equivalent of refinancing a 15-year mortgage to a 30-year mortgage.

The monthly mortgage payment may be reduced, but the overall financial

obligation is unchanged. It is my hope that this is a one year mathematical

adjustment and that by next year Fiscal Year 2013 -we may either go back to a

"7-year to fully fund" period or have Council approve a responsible and

sustainable retirement benefit plan. Unfortunately, given the complexity of

dealing with pension issues, these potential solutions could not be conceived,

vetted and adopted prior to the approval of a FY 2012 Budget.



Operational Costs and Challenges

In order to balance the Budget, we have asked all Department Heads to reduce

their General Fund departmental budgets by 2%. Given that operational costs for

General Government departments have remained flat or reduced since 2007, this

FY 2012 reduction largely "eats into the bone" of those departments. The total

savings in departmental reductions is $2,773,679 (or 6.61 Reserve Fund days).



These dramatic operational cuts cause several postponed and hidden costs to the

city and ultimately to the taxpayer. I will summarize a few:



Our vehicle and heavy equipment inventory is alarmingly aged. Many vehicles are

19951999 vintage and have over 150,000 miles on them. Because of prior budget

restrictions and the absence of a methodical plan to replace vehicles due to

those restrictions, the majority of our fleet incurs expensive repair costs and

downtime. It is possible to reach a point where we have a number of vehicles

breakdown or "flat line" in a few months' time causing the city to exceed its

contingency fund and requiring it to dip into reserve funds to continue the

day-to-day function of the city government.



We denied all requests for reclassifications and new positions from the General

Fund.

While this prevents increased personnel costs, it results in long-term pay

compression for senior employees and a loss of expertise as talented and

experienced individuals seek employment elsewhere or decline to enter public

service. Failure to adjust our General Government employee pay scale also makes

Columbus less competitive in the job market, a reality we have experienced

recently when trying to fill open departmental level or management positions.

Failure to address justified requests for reclassifications and new positions

could result in morale issues for existing personnel, which have an effect on

the delivery of services to citizens and a hidden cost in less productive or

less invested employees.



We must pursue the 2% departmental budget reductions intelligently. Therefore,

I am directing that the reductions be achieved through efficiency improvements,

waste reductions, and/or a "return on investment" evaluations of current and

future expenditures.



It is my hope that our revenue projections are bettered by our actual revenue

collected in the first half of FY 2012. If so, we will make mid-year

adjustments as needed through our mid-year adjustment process.



Modest Cost of Living Adjustment for All Employees

General Government employees (including administrative support for Public

Safety) have not had a cost of living raise since September of 2008. This

fiscal year we are looking at inflationary trends spurred by increasing fuel

costs. Due to our decreasing revenues, a substantial raise is not prudent or

advisable. However, a modest cost of living increase across all operating funds

of .5% for General Government employees (at a cost of$253,706.27) and a .25%

increase for sworn Public Safety officers (at a cost of$151,651.47, which is

paid out of other LOST funds)6 are included in this budget. This results in a

General Fund obligation of $281 ,526 or 0.67 Reserve Fund days. While largely

symbolic, this modest cost of living adjustment is intended to show all our

employees that they are valued, and that I am committed to assessing employee

pay on an annual basis so that our salaries may keep pace with the market and

inflation.



Historically Subsidized Funds, AffiUates and Entities

Cuts were made to several Funds, affiliates and entities historically

subsidized by the CCG General Fund. The decline in revenue and other demand for

city resources makes these continued subsidies imprudent despite the

unquestioned value of the Fund, affiliate or entity.



? Integrated Waste Fund -For years Columbus has struggled without decision or

direction with the controversial issue of its Integrated Waste Fund and its

structural deficit. Over the past two years the General Fund has subsidized the

day-to-day functioning costs of our Integrated Waste Fund some $379,852. The

capital cost of our waste collection service in Columbus is largely due to

costly equipment, such as garbage trucks. The Fund is not self-sustaining

because the garbage fees collected do not cover the expenses of the service

provided to our citizens, even given our use of prison labor. The FY 2012

Budget would have demanded a subsidy of$187,036, without consideration of costs

for new garbage trucks (which are desperately needed) or the costs of dealing

with our landfill issues. This is not sustainable. The FY 2012 Budget,

therefore, deletes this subsidy and requires the community to go to one day a

week trash pick-up so that we can live by our Integrated Waste Fund means.

Reducing our garbage pick-up to one day a week is expected to save

approximately $331,000. Any excess reserves for the Integrated Waste Fund over

operating costs will be placed in a contingency fund for the likely need to

purchase garbage trucks in FY 2012 (we are told we currently need eighteen), or

to allocate additional funds to the costs of closure and post-closure of our

land-fills. Regardless, of this reduction of service and the associated cost

savings, it is possible that without an increase in monthly Garbage Fees) the

city will have to issue a bond to provide funding for landfill closure and

post-closure.



Civic Center Fund -The Civic Center Fund is expected to have a $150,000

operating deficit in FY 2011. (This does not include its $677,062 loan balance

with CCG). In order to balance its budget for FY 2012, the Civic Center would

require a subsidy of $291,491. In a recent review of Civic Center contracts and

dealings, it was determined that the proposed FY 2012 subsidy could be

eliminated through tighter controls. Accordingly, the subsidy is not budgeted

for FY 2012 because it is not expected to be needed barring an unforeseen

occurrence.



Civil War Naval Museum In 1994, some of the assets of what is now the Civil War

Naval Museum came under the domain of the City's Parks and Recreation

Department. As part of the private fundraising effort known as the "Columbus

Challenge" (along with public funding from Master Tourism in the amount

of$579,607), funds were raised to build the current home of the Museum. In

1999, as part of a public/private partnership, the city agreed to subsidize the

early operating costs of the Museum with the previous allocation of the Parks

and Recreation budget of $78,840. This commitment was intended to be

year-to-year and temporary until such time as the Museum could become

self-sustaining. It is expressly stated in the parties' Memorandum of

Understanding that the arrangement is "subject to funds availability". The

annual subsidy was increased in FY 2004 to $103,840 during the budget process.

In 2008, City Council was apprised of the Museum's non-payment of the balance

owed to the City, which balance currently stands at $248,384. A decision was

made at that time to carry a significant portion of the Museum's operation

costs through the General Fund by increasing the annual subsidy to $300,000

until the Museum was self-sustaining. In FY 2011 this subsidy continued at

$300,000. There is no question of the value of the Civil War Naval Museum to

this community. And, there is no question that the city wishes to continue its

partnership and support of educational and preservation entities such as the

Civil War Naval Museum; yet, the Museum must develop a business plan to be

self-sustaining. For over a decade, our city subsidies have failed to produce a

workable model for the Museum. Certain personnel costs such as the Museum's own

in-house accounting, maintenance, and advertising could perhaps be handled more

economically by existing city services (such as our Finance and Maintenance

Departments) or other city affiliates (such as the Columbus Convention and

Visitors Bureau). Savings may be achieved through a better coordination of

these personnel to avoid duplication. Additionally, the Museum could consider

adjusting its days of operation to correspond to those days of the week when

the most visitors frequent the Museum, and perhaps save costs. Realizing the

dramatic impact of completely eliminating a sizeable, long-term subsidy, I

recommend that we return the subsidy to its original level of$78,000 for FY

2012 as we work with the Museum to assist in its development of a

self-sustaining business model, free of future subsidy. As Mayor, I am

committed to working with the Civil War Naval Museum to assure its continued

viability and have already met with its Director and Board to discuss

potential plans for moving forward.



Public Golf Course Fund -Few would debate the need for and value of public golf

courses in a community the size of Columbus, Georgia. They are essential for

economic development, tourism, and youth and adult recreation, among other

factors. We have two public golf courses in our community: Bull Creek, a

thirty-six hole course and Oxbow Meadows, a nine-hole course. Over the years

the courses have operated at a structural deficit without a prospective

business plan. In the past 6 years, the General Fund of the CCG has subsidized

the running of our public golf courses in the amount of $1,205,375. In addition

to this subsidy, the balance owed from the golf courses to the General Fund as

of June 30, 2010, was $3,113,007. In FY 2011 that subsidy was $893,917. In FY

2012, the subsidy is expected to be $619,104. I believe our public golf courses

are of a quality that they can at least break even. We can no longer afford to

subsidize these important community assets in our prior fashion, so I am

recommending the elimination of all such subsidies and collaborating with the

Golf Authority and a team of experienced community volunteers to develop a

sustainable business plan and successful fundraising effort so that our public

golf courses are productive, self-sustaining assets. There is need for capital

improvements at these courses (Le., another 9 holes at Oxbow Meadows and a new

Club House at Bull Creek). These improvements will likely have to be made

through private contributions, grants or through a future bond issue by the

city. Understandably, those potential lines of revenue are enhanced if the

operations of the golf courses are self-sustaining. As Mayor, I am committed to

assisting our public golf courses to become independently sustainable assets of

the city and have already met with the Public Golf Course Director and the Golf

Authority to that end.



Affiliates and Entities -For years the city has had a relationship with the

quasigovernmental organizations of Keep Columbus Beautiful, Uptown, Inc.,

Cooperative Extension and the entity of Literacy Alliance, Inc. Due to our

current revenue restrictions, our subsidies to these entities are being reduced

by 10% from their FY 2011 level.



Keep Columbus Beautiful (KCB) can demonstrate a successful business plan and

broad engagement of citizen volunteers and contributors that provide a $7

return on every taxpayer dollar invested. KCB leverages other financial

community resources from the private sector to capitalize on the city's partial

subsidy. Though City Council increased its subsidy in FY 2011 to $80,784, KCB

had previously been on a course of reducing its dependency on the city -down

from $81,215 in FY 2005 to $65,784 in FY 2010. This FY 2012 Budget begins the

process of returning KCB to its prior FY 2011 level by reducing its subsidy 10%

to $72,706.



Uptown, Inc. likewise has a proven business plan with demonstrable results. As

its success has grown, Uptown has gradually reduced its dependency on the city.

Its FY 2005 subsidy was $100,000. Its FY 2012 subsidy will be $72,900 after a

10% reduction. Uptown can show that its use of city subsidy has been leveraged

to generate $200 million in capital investment over the last 15 years, to

create 10 new businesses and 50 new jobs in 2010, to improve the Uptown

residential occupancy rate and to increase the number of visitors to the city's

now thriving business and entertainment district. By broadening its private

sector support and demonstrably enhancing the city's economic development

strategy, the partial subsidy of Uptown's operations has a proven return on

taxpayer investment.



University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension is an educational arm of UGA.

Since 1997, CCG has had a contractual partnership with the state in which all

Extension employees are state employees and the city provides partial funding

of the employees, office space, and supplies. The city's contribution to this

partnership constitutes about 16% of its overall budget of$791,409. The

programs offered by Extension include Agriculture and Natural Resources,

Expanded Food and Nutrition, 4-H Youth, Home Economics and Resource

Development. Given our long-standing contractual relationship with the state

related to the Extension, the partnership obligations spelled out therein, and

our comparatively small contribution to the overall value provided to the

citizens, it would be ill-advised to eliminate this subsidy without further,

extensive inquiry.

We, however, recommend a 10% reduction in our city subsidy to $126,298. We can

revisit this subsidy in the FY 2013 Budget.



It is difficult to quantify the economic return generated by our partnership

with Literacy Alliance, though there is no doubt that a literate populace is of

great value to any community. It is a small volunteer literacy program the

value of which is unquestioned, but nebulous. However, the Literacy Alliance

has decreased its reliance on city subsidy down from $20,000 in FY 2005 to

$14,580 in FY 2012 after our 10% cut. Given the relatively small amount of its

subsidy, its leverage of other grants and donations, and its decreasing

reliance on the city, I recommend we continue this subsidy in FY 2012 and

reassess it in FY 2013.



User Fees

In order to attempt to recoup the administrative and other costs related to the

provision of particular city services we have proposed the creation of, or

increase in, User Fees to help cover those costs. The thought behind

implementing or adjusting existing User Fees is to place the cost more directly

on those availing themselves of the municipal service being provided. The User

Fees recommended in this Budget are not comprehensive across all departments

and programs. It is a start. We will continue to review other departments and

programs for possible additional User Fee recommendations in FY 2013.



These recommended User Fees are expected to bring $304,916 in additional

revenue to the city to help offset the costs directly related to the services

provided to users. The User Fees created or adjusted in this FY 2012 Budget are

as follows:

Department Fee Description Additional Revenue Produced

Inspections/Codes Building Permits -Increase minimum fee from $50 to $75 and

increase $3 per $1,000 value to $4 per $1,000 value $100,000

Planning Special Exception Use Request -Increase from $250 to $500 $2,000

Planning BHAR -Demolition Permits submission fee will be $50 $500

Planning BHAR -Board Review Application fee will be $25 $200

Planning BHAR -Staff Approval Request fee will be $10 $100

Parks and Recreation Facilities Rentals -Increase rental rates for residents

and non-residents $63,000

Parks and Recreation After School Programs Increase fee schedule by $1 $48,000

Parks and Recreation Athletics -$100 fee per team, applicable to all teams,

including baseball, football, soccer, and adult basketball $42,800

Parks and Recreation Tennis -10% increase for residents and 50% increase for

non-residents $35,800

Parks and Recreation Pottery -Fees for classes and supplies $10,000

Parks and Recreation Basketball -Youth Teams increase of $5 per resident and $7

per non-resident $1,316

Parks and Recreation Therapeutics -Fees for transportation of participants

$1,200



While these User Fees will allow us the resources to improve the service

delivery our citizens demand, this was a particularly difficult decision to

make in light of our efforts to encourage development in underutilized areas

and to encourage kids of all ages to take part in constructive, confidence

building activities through our Parks & Recreation Department. We believe that

the Mayor?s Real Estate Investment Initiative Commission will bring forth

suggested incentives for real estate development investments in underutilized

areas; and these recommended inspection and planning fee adjustments will be

comparatively nominal reimbursed for administrative costs incurred by the city

in supp9rt of all growth and development.

In order to ensure that every resident child who would like to participate in a

Parks & Recreation supported team has that opportunity, regardless of family

financial strains, I will ask our new Parks & Recreation Department to review

private charitable partnerships, and perhaps a program worthy of an Office of

Crime Prevention grant, to ensure every resident child who wishes to play city

sports has that opportunity.

Other LOST Funds:

In 2008, the citizens of Columbus, Georgia approved a one penny sales tax

for the purposes of funding Public Safety (70%) and Infrastructure (30%) needs.

In FY 2010 and FY 2011, many expenditures of the Other LOST funds were

recurring costs, such as employee costs. This means that a sizeable portion of

the $30.6 million FY 2012 Other LOST funds for Public Safety is committed to

cover those previously incurred and now recurring costs. We expect to collect

approximately $4 million in Other LOST revenues for FY 2012 over and above that

amount needed to meet our prior commitments. We also expect $1.17 million of

the Other LOST revenues for Public Safety collected in FY 2011 (largely from

unused funds from our new Office of Crime Prevention) to revert to the Other

LOST fund leaving this FY 2012 budget with $ 5.17 million for Public Safety

which has not been previously committed.8 However, we received $18,457,999 in

new Public Safety expenditure requests to be paid for out of this $5.17 million

pot. Accordingly, I recommend an allocation among those Departments based in

part on the number of sworn officers in the respective departments and in other

part on their request for funds, the particular needs of each department and

their past allocations:



Public Safety Department No. of Sworn Officers FY 2012 Allocation

Columbus Police Department 488 $1,859,164

Columbus Fire and EMS 1370

$809,612

Muscogee Co. Prison 110

$53,296

Homeland Security 2

$59,500

Muscogee Co. Marshal's Office 19 $286,079

Muscogee Co. Sheriffs Department 312 $1,885,318

Recorder's Court N/A

$88,700

State Solicitor's Office N/A

$120,152

Clerk of Municipal Court N/A

$3,642

Muscogee County Coroner 3

$3,950



The 30% of the Other Lost funds, or $9.98 million, allocated for Infrastructure

is to be expended on Riverwalk repair, information technology, facility

improvements, storm water and sewer rehabilitation, and road resurfacing and

improvements.



Concluding Remarks:



This Budget has been prepared to address our revenue limitations in an extended

sluggish economic recovery. It has also identified and addressed difficult

systemic issues related to our Defined Benefits Plan, our challenges related to

General Government operational costs, and our history of subsidizing Funds,

affiliates and entities. It was not an easy Budget to compile, but it is

prudent and responsible and balanced, with as little effect (3.61 days) on the

General Reserve Fund as we could achieve.



After the conclusion of presenting her budget, the Mayor then thanked City

Manager Isaiah Hugley, Finance Director Pam Hodge, our Department Heads and

their staff for their extraordinary assistance in this effort.



To our City Council, I respectfully submit this Budget for your review,

consideration and approval. I thank: you in advance for the hard work that will

be necessary to complete this budget process. Many of the decisions made herein

are difficult decisions, but I trust you will find them reasonable and

necessary under the totality of the circumstances presented.



City Manager Hugley pointed out that a copy of the budget is on file in

the Clerk of Council?s office, as well as the Finance Department and is on the

website as well.

A motion to adjourn this meeting was made by Councilor Henderson. Seconded

by Councilor Baker and carried unanimously by those eight members present at

9:55 a.m.



Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council





















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