E PA  THIR  120 North Essa Street, Lake Park, Georgia31636  City Hall 229-559-7470 Fax 229-559-7499 City of] Lake Park PUBLICI HEARING Minutes September 19, 2024 6:30 pm  Members Present were. Mayor. Jena Sandlin, Mayor Pro' Tem Oscar Griffith, Council Members  Michelle Lane, Carl Spano and Busby Courson. Appointed Staff Present: City Clerk Lisa Johnson Mayor Jena Sandlin called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro-Tem Oscar Griffith led thel Invocation. Mayor Jena Sandlin led the Pledge.  Mayor Sandlin thanked everyone for coming and stated that this would be the second of three Public Hearings to discuss the millage rate: for this year. Because there have been al lot ofchanges and needs that have come their attention, the Council has decided to take the time to review the costs associated with those things and) hold these Public Hearings to allow members oft the Public to ask questions and give their input. Mayor Sandlin asked if any Member of Council wanted to Council Member Carl Spano spoke, introducing himself as the newest member of Council, since January of 2024, and stated that he was the appointed Budget Officer and had been the one to make the recommendation to: review the: millage rate to gor no higher than 6.51 mils. Hel has worked weekly if not daily with the City Clerk to monitor the budget and understand where the City's money has been coming from and where it is spent and to make suret that the City's funds are not mismanaged. Part of the issue encountered is inflation: like residents, higher costs impact the City, and the City needs toi make an adjustment fori inflation in order to provide services and meet the needs of the City, especially now that the City is growing. He stated that he would start with  say anything before the Council opened the floor for Public Comment.  where the City is, and what theyl have done in the past:  Since 2015 or 2016, the millage rate had been set at 7-392 and had been held by the City every, year. This was only a gradual increase in revenues. Basically, this means that unless there werei increases ini the value ofhomes, property taxes have remained pretty much the same and the City's revenues have remained the same as well. Last year, due to the sharp increase in property values, the City rolled the millage rate back to 6.219 mils and gave  1    everyone: ai taxl break. Thei result wast that the Cityrealized approximatelya: $7,500increase from property taxes over the previous year. From 2019 to 2023, the property taxes received have gone up approximately 19%, while the rate ofinflation for the same time period has been 23.1%. The amount of money coming ini to pay the bills has not kept up with thei increase int thel bills. Therefore, the Cityi is requesting an increase to 6.5 mils. The recommendation from the County is to roll back to 5-328 mils, but upon reviewing the budget, it has been determined that this will not meet the City's needs. Council Member General and Administration: Over the last two years, the City's employees have received an average of 2.5% payi increase, and the cost-of-living increase. has been a little over 4%; hei is asking fora3%i increase for employees, sot the City can retain them. In addition, there isar need fori increased staff, as the Cityis growing. The amount of money the City can offer new hires is not competitive enough for those applicants to consider the City. This makes ite exceedingly hard to find the talent needed to meet the City's needs. Finally, several of our employees need training to do the jobs they have and some of them are required to obtain that training toi maintain the certifications they are: required tol have. Fire Department: the City recentlyl had toj purchase 61 new: radios for the Fire Department; although the Fire Chief did: recommend 12. The County has announced plans toi upgrade the communication and dispatch system, and the City's radios were too old to accept the upgrade, sO they needed to be replaced. This is an increase of $15,000 per year in the budget; the total increase requested is about $150,000, SO this represents 10% of the Police Department: The vehicles are aging. Usually, we buy used vehicles, for instance from the Sheriff's department, but when you buy used vehicles with several tens of thousands of miles on them already, they are prone to need repairs. Those costs come out of the budget. We would like to purchase new vehicles when needed sO they come with factory warranties, and we don't have toj pay for repairs out of the General Fund budget due tol high mileage. The Cityl has a goal to increase coverage for the City. Wel have aj part- time position scheduled for 20 hours per week and would like toi increase that to 32 hours Maintenance: has similar issues. The vehicles are aging, and in addition to this, we have generators, pumps and other infrastructure that needs to bei maintained or replaced. Ifwe have the SPLOST funds, we can replace these, but otherwise, repairs come out of the General Fund. He referenced an outage in November when the City had to go over to County Water at a cost to the City of approximately $4,000. More efficient maintenance Public Works: Council knows there are public works projects that need to be done ini the City: there are drainage problems and other engineering projects that need to be completed. To do this, the City needs toj pay the Engineer to evaluate the project sO thata cost can be calculated, at which time we can look fori the funds or grants toj pay forit. These grants and other funding generally require aj match: from the City, and tol be able toj provide thei match, wel have to have the: funds available. Thel hope is that we willl be able to address Council Member Spano finished by stating that the Council Members are trying to do the best they can for the City and get nothing out oft this, noting that he personally donates his paycheck from the City back to the City. He noted that during the 9 months hel has served on the Council and as the Budget Officer, no one has ever called him about the budget, or asked about it in meetings, and to his knowledge, in that time only one person has even asked for a copy of the budget. He invited members of the public to reach out to him at any time outside oft the meetings if they have any questions or suggestions and he would be happy to answer any questions they have, stating that ifhe did not have the answer, he will get the answer. Council Member Spano went on to say that Members of Council were very aware that they are stewards of the residents'  Spano then moved on to what the City would be doing with the money:  increase.  per week, which would need additional resources.  will: reduce these types of events.  these issues in at timelier manner.  2    money, and they don't want to waste that money. Just like the residents, Members pay taxes, sO ifthe millage rate goes to 6.5 it affects him as well, and he doesn't want the money mismanaged either. He stated that he takes his responsibility and Council Member and Budget Officer very seriously to make sure that he and the rest of the Council are: not misappropriating the residents Mayor Sandlin asked if any other members would like to speak. As no other member wished to speak, the Mayor announced that the floor would be opened for] public comment, asking residents to please limit their comments toi three minutes and to speak clearly when they state their name  money and spending it on things that they don'tneed to spend it on.  and address.  Council Member Busby Courson read an email from Alicia Beasley, stating her opposition Rob. Auger - 218 Harris Trail - stated his appreciation fori the service of Council Members and asked what benefits there are to being in a City. Council Member Spano noted that onel Demeftisbeterinsurane: rates duet to Police: and Fire Protection. The City's] ISOrating Arthur Keckle - 315 4-H Club Rd - Asked for the current millage rate (6.219) and the proposed millage rate (6.5). He stated that the Police Department should be able to get Susan Keckle - 315 4-H Club Rd - asked if all water meters are fixed now, and was told that they are, and that wateri is a different fund, not] part oft the millage rate process. Cynthia Holden = 7521 Enoch Lake Circle - Asked if the business district could be annexed. Council Member Carl Spano explained that thei rulesofannexation: required that acertain percentage oft the district would have to request annexation. Patricia Brown - 809 Main St - stated that speaking from her pocketbook, she couldn't afford another increase; the County isi increasing taxes as well. Gloria Luke 201 4-H Club Rd - reiterated the statements of others that she does not want an: increase and stated that she has received no services in 25. years in) Lake Park. She suggested cutting thel Police Departumentbackand: depending ont the Sheriffs Department. Arthur Keckley - 3154-HClub! Rd-alotofresidents have al limited income; many people are coming here to retire and increased taxes from both the County and the City will prevent people from moving in. Susan Keckley, his wife, stated that she and her husband have considered whether they will need to move because they can't afford to live here. Cynthia Holden = 7521 Enoch Lake Circle - stated that the County says they are considering removing school taxes but that would not happen until next year. Council Member Michelle Lane spoke and told residents that she was born and raised here and understands the concerns; she herself filed an appeal to the increase in the County last year. However the City has not asked for a "raise" in a long time, but does need to be able to pay employees a living wage. She asked Mrs. Keckley what the City could do or needs to do better; Mrs. Keckley referenced mailbox issues at Pointer's Ridge, drainage issues that she has been reporting for the past year, and mowing in 4-H Right of Way, finishing by saying that she didn't  to: an increased millage rate.  is5.  grants for any major equipment that they need.  feel residents can count ont the City.  Gloria Luke - 201 4-H Club Rd- asked if anything could bej postponed tol keep the millage Pat] Brown - 809 Main St - stated that shel has looked into volunteer groups and the Area Agency on Aging. She suggested that the Council needs to be more approachable, and Sandy Hayden - 218 Harris Trail - asked if1 the City could partner better with the County Bob Alger - 218 Harris Trail = asked if the City could share responsibilities for law enforcement with the County, or allow the County to take over law enforcement here.  rate: from increasing sO much.  noted that the community is not as cohesive as they used tol be. toa alleviate: increases and still be able to meet the City's needs.  3    Council Member Griffith stated that this had been discussed, but the community did not Arthur Keckley -3 3154-HC Club Rd - stated the answer to Council MemberLane's question ist that the City needs to cleani the ditches and culverts out, reporting that the Cityl had done some work some years back and covered a drain it was never uncovered. He stated that there was still debris] piled up in the neighborhood from Idalia. Beverly Frost - 415 Main St - addressed Council Member Lane, stating that there arer no services for senior assistance -1 this is something the City could dol better. Council Member Oscar Griffith spoke and stated he has spoken to the Police Chief and asked him to hit every street at least twice per day. Also, the Mayor has tasked him to look into correcting the problem with the culverts. He noted that thel Police Department. hasl been doing theirjobs, but they get complaints when they do what they're asked and complaints when they Council Member Michelle Lane stated that the Police are doing a great job and contributing tothecoffers. She does not feel that the Cityislooking to decrease staffor departments, stating "our hearts are in thel best interests oft the City" and the City needs to doi thel best it can fori its employees as well. She thanked Council Member Spano for his work and whol has borne the Council Member Spano spoke, saying that ultimately, the City will: need tol look at what can be cut, regardless oft the rate that is set. The proposed rate wasn't pulled out oft thin air, but we Council Member Busby Courson stated that as he is retired, he has gotten involved with Alan Holden - 7521 Enoch Lake Circle - stated that hel has done the worki that Council is  feel safe with that solution.  don't.  brunt of complaints.  arel looking at the best options fori the City.  Maintenance and is also trying tol help get things sorted out.  now doing and expressed his appreciation fori the Council's work.  Mayor Sandlin thanked everyone for coming and for speaking sO honestly, stating that the last Public Hearing would bet the following week, September 26 at 6:00 at City Hall. Hearing no other comments or questions, she asked ifthere was ai motion to dismiss. Council Member Carl Spano made a motion to adjourn. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the motion. The motion  passed unanimously, 4-0, and the Hearing stood adjourned.  an  dieodr Lisa Johnson,gity Clerk  Qass  Seal  4