[0:00] summary.
[0:04] » Good morning. Welcome everybody to the
[0:06] serve board of commissioners September
[0:08] 22 26 meeting. Thank you all for being
[0:11] here. Just information I've got to leave
[0:13] at 20 till 10 to be in Byron for a
[0:16] mandatory meeting. So I will slip out at
[0:19] that point. Item one is to discuss
[0:22] operations of the customer service
[0:24] department and proposed revisions to the
[0:26] customer service policy.
[0:29] And looks like we've got Rita Bagwell to
[0:32] present. So, welcome.
[0:40] >> Good morning.
[0:41] >> I'm honored to share the operations of
[0:43] customer service with you today. I lead
[0:46] an outstanding team and I'm excited that
[0:49] they will be showcased in the first part
[0:51] of my presentation. I will also share
[0:54] some proposed changes to the customer
[0:56] service policy. In 2020 when COVID
[1:00] occurred, we the city had to revamp the
[1:02] level of services that we provided our
[1:04] customers at the time. that led to
[1:07] availability for online payments, online
[1:10] contracts, bill payment kiosk, and
[1:13] access to account information online.
[1:16] All of these options are accessible to
[1:18] our customers 247.
[1:22] In 2023, our policy was updated with
[1:25] these resources becoming part of the
[1:27] policy. I found through reviewing the
[1:30] policy for the revisions I have proposed
[1:32] today, the policy in 23 was a sound
[1:36] policy. The revisions today are
[1:39] enhancing the services that we provide
[1:41] to our customers as well as becoming
[1:44] better stewards for the city's
[1:46] resources.
[1:54] This is our organizational chart.
[1:56] Customer service has 22 employees. I
[1:59] have a assistant customer service
[2:01] manager who has six positions that
[2:03] report to him. Mr. Joel Kitchens, the
[2:06] billing supervisor has two positions,
[2:09] Serena Engles. Contract desk supervisor
[2:12] Wanda Moore has three positions that
[2:14] report to her. The cashier supervisor
[2:18] has five positions that report to her.
[2:21] And the key accounts manager is
[2:24] responsible for all of the city utility
[2:26] key accounts. And then I have the
[2:28] administrative coordinator. Each
[2:31] supervisor does not just supervise
[2:34] three, four, five employees. They also
[2:37] are assisting those employees with the
[2:39] customers that we have. So I want that
[2:42] to be understood as well. I would like
[2:44] to take a moment to introduce my staff
[2:46] that are here.
[2:51] So, Serena Engles is the bill and
[2:53] supervisor. Wanda Moore, contract desk
[2:56] supervisor. TJ Simon is our new key
[3:00] accounts utility manager. And Mr. Joel
[3:02] Kitchens is the assistant customer
[3:04] service manager.
[3:08] [clears throat]
[3:12] Like I mentioned, customer service has
[3:14] 22 employees. The total years of tenure
[3:18] in our department is 151 years. The
[3:22] longest tenure is Mr. Kitchens with 26
[3:25] years. Our shortest tenure is Andrea
[3:28] Slaggo who has been here with us one
[3:30] month and she's bilingual. So, she was a
[3:32] great addition to our team. The median
[3:35] years of experience for our team is an
[3:38] average of four years.
[3:40] The national average for customer
[3:42] service employees is typically with
[3:44] between 13 to 15 months. So of my staff,
[3:49] 11 have been with us more than four
[3:52] years. So half of my staff is above the
[3:55] national average of staying in customer
[3:57] service at the same place. Five
[4:00] employees have been with us two to four
[4:02] years. Four employees have been here
[4:05] less than one. And of those four, two
[4:07] were new additions to customer service.
[4:14] » [clears throat]
[4:14] >> I wanted to note our 2026 departmental
[4:16] goals. The first customer service will
[4:20] become a one-stop shop for customer
[4:21] inquiries regarding all city of Griffin
[4:24] utilities. We will be initially the
[4:27] person that they will sign up for solid
[4:29] waste services, fiber, um water, we're
[4:33] already handling the water um tap fees
[4:35] and things like that and they'll pay it
[4:37] with us. So we will be the customerf
[4:39] facing for the city. Um we will improve
[4:43] the online utility contract process to
[4:45] provide ease for the customer. That's
[4:48] already been completed as of August
[4:50] 15th.
[4:51] Implement online contracts for solid
[4:54] waste services. This will be for special
[4:56] handling rolloff request and things such
[4:58] as as that. Um those are on paper and
[5:04] it's done through the c the solid waste
[5:06] department. It will eventually filter
[5:08] through the flow will be better and our
[5:10] anticipation completion date for that is
[5:13] by the end of October.
[5:19] I'm visual so I wanted you to see the
[5:21] representatives. This is Mr. Kitchens
[5:24] and his team.
[5:26] Some of their responsibilities include
[5:28] answer the telephone, assist with
[5:30] general questions, process credit card
[5:33] payments, act as a liaison between the
[5:36] customer and the utility. They contact
[5:38] customers about high water usage. And
[5:41] that's a key because we call the
[5:43] customer if it meets a certain
[5:44] threshold. We call them before they get
[5:47] that bill. And often they weren't aware
[5:48] of an issue. Assisting reconnection of
[5:51] remote meters completes utility
[5:53] analysis. analysis requests for both
[5:56] electric and water. They handle the
[5:58] payment arrangements for the customers
[6:00] and they process broken pipe credits.
[6:03] They do a lot more but that gets the
[6:05] gist of an every day. The billing
[6:08] department some of their highlighted
[6:11] responsibilities. They assist with
[6:13] internal and external customers with
[6:15] billing and account inquires relating to
[6:17] billing. Processes penalties and
[6:20] disconnect notices. handles the
[6:22] disconnection of all remote meters on
[6:24] the daily cutoff. Sorts and processes
[6:27] the lot box and bill payments. Processes
[6:30] move in and move out service orders.
[6:32] Imports the meter readings for electric
[6:34] and water per the billing calendar.
[6:37] Participates in the monthly bill
[6:38] preparation and that takes a full month
[6:41] because they're looking at several
[6:43] criterias.
[6:45] runs the different bill cycles and they
[6:47] generate non-metered monthly services
[6:49] such as fiber and the solid waste.
[6:53] The contract desk responsibilities
[6:56] highlighted for them are they register
[6:58] the customers for new service. This is
[7:00] commercial, industrial, residential.
[7:03] Collects utility deposit payments,
[7:05] utility payments, provides information
[7:08] and resolves complaints from customers.
[7:11] processes moveout requests and utility
[7:13] transfers, assist with the collections
[7:16] process, and they also process the proof
[7:19] of residency that our customers need for
[7:22] school [clears throat]
[7:24] credit history, address, name changes,
[7:26] and additional fees.
[7:30] Our cashiers are probably one of the
[7:33] most customerf facing employees that we
[7:36] have. Um, and Carolyn at the top of that
[7:39] picture is the one that you will hear
[7:40] say, "Welcome in every time you come
[7:42] in." Um, they receive and process
[7:45] payments by cash, check, credit cards,
[7:47] and money orders. They process the
[7:49] return checks, assist in resolving
[7:51] customer accounts, provide support to
[7:54] the phone room when needed. They process
[7:56] the return mail, processes reconnections
[7:59] on services that have been dis
[8:00] disconnected for non-payment. They
[8:03] balance their cash drawer at the end of
[8:04] the shift and they serve as a backup for
[8:07] the reception desk. So, someone's at
[8:10] that desk all the time.
[8:12] The next person that is on our staff is
[8:15] our key accounts manager. And I wanted
[8:17] to give TJ a moment to actually step up
[8:20] so you could be introduced to him and he
[8:22] could kind of tell you some of the
[8:23] things and visions that he has.
[8:30] » Um, good morning everyone. Like Miss
[8:31] Rita said, my name is TJ Simon. Excited
[8:33] to be here with the city of Griffin. Um,
[8:37] my role as the key account manager. My
[8:39] role is to be a 247 liaison for our
[8:44] industrial customers and our key
[8:45] accounts. Making sure that they're taken
[8:47] care of um not just for their electric
[8:51] like in the past, however, for all their
[8:53] utilities, water, solid waste, all the
[8:55] above. um analyzing trends in their
[8:58] consumption, uh making sure their
[9:00] building looks correct, um planning and
[9:03] implementing any key account or
[9:05] departmental activities, and then
[9:07] handling the marketing and advertising
[9:09] for our utilities, especially with solid
[9:12] waste and fiber.
[9:14] um some of the upcoming projects and
[9:17] events that uh we have going on. We have
[9:19] our public power week celebrating the
[9:21] importance of public power and a public
[9:24] utility uh coming up October 4th through
[9:26] the 10th as part of that and a way to
[9:29] give back to the community. We are uh
[9:31] hosting a warmth for winter drive uh
[9:34] coordinating with several different
[9:36] places to get those blankets we collect
[9:39] hats, coats uh to those in need in our
[9:41] community. And then as well on November
[9:43] 16th, we have National Storm Water Day,
[9:46] uh hoping to promote the Griffin Gives
[9:48] Back program and get more and more
[9:50] volunteers out to our cleanups. Um this
[9:53] past week, we had the Spalding County
[9:55] Fair where we were able to have each
[9:58] different utility, uh engage with the
[10:00] community, um have a fun time with the
[10:03] community, and just show the utility
[10:07] that each of us represent.
[10:13] He is a perfect person for that
[10:15] position. He has a servants's heart and
[10:17] wants to do things for the community.
[10:19] So, he represents Griffin very well. Um,
[10:22] the next person is our administrative
[10:24] coordinator. Britney is my um right-hand
[10:28] go-to. She keeps us on track all of
[10:30] customer service. She provides
[10:31] administrative support to the director
[10:34] and supervisors. She orders our supplies
[10:36] and equipment, oversees our budget, and
[10:38] manages our checkbook to make sure that
[10:40] we're working within our budget,
[10:42] maintains miscellaneous deposit logs for
[10:45] all of the city departments and assist
[10:47] with the preparation of the daily
[10:49] deposit. Our receptionist is another
[10:52] customer-f facing employee. She This is
[10:54] Samantha Bats. She answers the telephone
[10:57] and greets customers,
[10:59] greets our visitors, not just customers,
[11:01] from one Griffin Center. She assists the
[11:03] customer signing into the kiosk,
[11:05] maintains the daily counts for customer
[11:07] service, and directs customers to the
[11:09] appropriate personnel.
[11:15] We're quite famous. We have several
[11:17] people that have um received the
[11:19] strongest link in the chain. Um I
[11:21] received it January of 2012, the year
[11:24] 2015, and March 2022.
[11:27] Serena Engles received it January 26,
[11:30] September 2018. Wanda Moore received it
[11:34] October 2017. Abria Taylor received it
[11:38] July 21. Laura Gman received it December
[11:42] 2023 and Mosha Henderson received it
[11:45] March 2026. The reason that slide was
[11:48] important for me to put in there was
[11:50] because customer service is not for all.
[11:54] And to have that amount of employees
[11:56] that are recognized overall city is huge
[12:00] because it just shows their growth and
[12:03] their dedication to the job.
[12:06] The next slide is [clears throat]
[12:07] another slide that was important for me
[12:08] to showcase about customer service is
[12:11] the community involvement. I believe
[12:14] that it is important as does my staff
[12:16] that we're not just behind our desk
[12:19] collecting a payment or telling someone
[12:21] no. It is about showing them that we're
[12:24] part of them. We're one Griffin. And um
[12:27] parting part of the way that we build
[12:30] that gap or build the uh go across the
[12:32] bridge to meet them halfway is we stay
[12:35] in the community. Um, some of these
[12:37] pictures is where we've participated in
[12:40] Feeding Griffin for the backpack
[12:42] launches, United Way, Griffin Gives
[12:45] Back, the ice cream stroll, back to the
[12:48] school bash, and we um host a box for
[12:51] Griffin Fire Rescue toy drive, but a lot
[12:54] of the the toys that go in there are
[12:56] from my staff. Um, and you can see we
[13:00] have 22 people and you see how many
[13:02] people are showing up at those things.
[13:05] We're united. Um, we've also uh
[13:07] volunteered for the Christmas parade,
[13:09] June Jam, and like TJ said, the fair
[13:12] booth.
[13:14] Some of our outreach and trainings. We
[13:16] have um it's important to refuel the
[13:20] tank in customer service. So, we do a
[13:22] lot of trainings, some internal, some
[13:24] external. Um, some of the trainings
[13:27] we've had is phone etiquette training
[13:29] for all customer service training, first
[13:32] aid and CPR training. We have had
[13:34] customers have a crisis in our customers
[13:37] office that we needed to have that
[13:38] knowhow. Um office safety training
[13:42] griffin spalding leadership institute.
[13:45] Um I have really tried to make sure that
[13:48] we have employees that are able to
[13:49] attend that. Um we collaborate with data
[13:52] matics our bill uh payment printer. Uh
[13:56] we attended the career fair at Moore
[13:58] Elementary. And this is a big thing that
[14:00] I'm proud of. The last item is we have
[14:03] we collaborate with our other cities and
[14:05] it's not that we're just taking from
[14:07] them. The city of Cington, Nunan, and
[14:10] Rockdale County have all came to us and
[14:13] asked us for our help and our guidance
[14:15] on their practices of how we could help
[14:18] them see how to improve. So that to me
[14:21] says a lot about Griffin.
[14:24] The next slide is just a a picture of
[14:28] our project list. Um, we took the
[14:31] electric department's project list and
[14:33] adapted it to customer service because
[14:34] we wanted to be able to track what we're
[14:37] doing. And, um, you can see at the top,
[14:39] we're accomplishing two of them by this
[14:42] presentation and our policy update
[14:44] today.
[14:48] And that concludes the presentation of
[14:51] just the customer service. Any questions
[14:53] about that?
[14:55] really proud of my
[14:56] >> I would like to commend staff. When you
[14:58] look back 20 years ago, it seems like
[15:00] every day or every week, we always had
[15:02] calls of complaints. We're lucky to get
[15:05] one. I mean, I'm not I mean, maybe one
[15:07] every six months. So, it's just a
[15:09] testimony of the commitment of your team
[15:12] and what y'all been able to
[15:13] >> Thank you.
[15:13] >> provide.
[15:14] >> We definitely have a great team and I
[15:16] think it's also the resources that we
[15:18] allow that we provide our customers now.
[15:21] Um, so I think we're in a good place. I
[15:23] think we could continue to do better,
[15:25] but I think we're doing a great job. Um,
[15:28] so the next slides are the proposed
[15:31] policy revisions. And like I said, in
[15:34] 2023, we we did do a revamp of our
[15:37] policy. And as I started looking at the
[15:40] changes that we needed to [music] make,
[15:43] um, it was not as significant in some
[15:46] cases as I thought it would be. So it
[15:48] was a very sound policy. the um in
[15:51] section two, the purpose of the policy
[15:54] um we specified the objective of the
[15:56] customer service policy to work in
[15:58] conjunction with the city's code of
[16:00] ordinances and contracts. So, we adapted
[16:03] that wording to make sure that it shows
[16:06] that those are in alignment.
[16:08] In section three, definitions that were
[16:11] added was the connection fee, the credit
[16:14] report fee, federal privacy act, and
[16:16] solid waste container fee. And that
[16:18] stemmed from the questions that our
[16:20] customers ask. They ask, "What are those
[16:22] fees on their bill?" And I wanted to be
[16:23] able to have a definition for them.
[16:28] Section four is our hours of operation.
[16:33] This indicates the proposed adjudgment
[16:35] adjust proposed adjustment to the
[16:38] customer service department operating
[16:40] hours changing from 8:00 am to 6:00 p.m.
[16:44] changing at 2 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. And
[16:47] I have resources that I want to provide
[16:49] for the board's consideration.
[16:54] This slide shows the statistics for June
[16:57] of 2026.
[16:59] From 8 am, our phone call total was
[17:02] 2,97.
[17:05] From 5 to 6 of that 2009 was 108 for the
[17:10] month. That's an average of five calls
[17:13] for that one hour.
[17:16] Office visits were 149. The office
[17:20] visits from 5 to 6 for the month was 37,
[17:24] leaving the average from 5 to 6 was two
[17:27] visits.
[17:28] The bill payments for the month of June
[17:31] was 6,653.
[17:34] The total for the month from 5 to 6 was
[17:37] 336 with an average of 16 payments. That
[17:42] is from the cashiers, the drive-thru,
[17:44] and the contract desk. And again,
[17:49] I would like to note we still have the
[17:51] bill payment kiosk in front of our
[17:52] building that those payments could have
[17:54] been made [cough and clears throat]
[17:56] in the drive-thru and online.
[17:59] The June personnel cost to operate from
[18:02] 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is my staff
[18:06] and the guard was $4,42125.
[18:12] And this does not include overtime
[18:14] expenses or the utilities cost. That is
[18:18] just the personnel.
[18:23] July 26
[18:25] from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. the calls
[18:27] were 3,000 for the total. 5 to 6 were
[18:32] 195 calls. The average calls from 5 to 6
[18:35] were nine.
[18:37] Office visits were 180. from five to six
[18:42] for the month 37 with an average of two
[18:45] coming in from five to six. Bill
[18:48] payments were 6,159
[18:52] for the month that was from 8 to 6. Of
[18:54] that 351 for the month were paid from 5
[18:58] to 6. An average of 16 payments. Again,
[19:02] July personnel cost to operate from 5 to
[19:04] 6 was $4,59921.
[19:12] August 2026,
[19:15] 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm, we fielded 3,16
[19:20] phone calls.
[19:22] 5 to 6 were 69 with an average of three.
[19:27] Office visits 1,266
[19:31] for the month of that was 39 averaging
[19:34] two coming into the office from 5 to 6.
[19:38] Bill payments 5,52.
[19:42] The total for the month was 259 with an
[19:46] average of 12.
[19:48] The a the August personnel cost was
[19:50] 4,42125
[19:53] and that's for that one hour.
[19:58] The benefits that I see of the adjusted
[20:01] operating hours, it'll improve retention
[20:04] concerns. It is difficult to have staff
[20:07] that is willing to work till 6:30 in the
[20:10] evening because if we close at 6:00, I
[20:12] have to have time to cash out those
[20:14] boxes. It'll improve morale, improve the
[20:17] quality of service that we provide our
[20:19] customers. It'll remove the rotating
[20:22] schedules, increasing operational
[20:25] efficiency. And what I mean by that is
[20:27] at 8 o'clock I will have three people
[20:29] answering phones, not one for an hour
[20:32] and then one coming on board after that.
[20:35] Um, same thing for signing up services.
[20:38] Same thing for the customers coming into
[20:41] the office. Improve customer employee
[20:44] and employee safety at 6:30 in January.
[20:48] It is extremely dark in that garage and
[20:51] that's for customers as well. It'll
[20:53] reduce our overtime expenses and our
[20:56] guard expenses. It'll increase the
[20:58] utilization of the online services that
[21:00] the city has already implemented for
[21:03] payments, service contracts, etc. And
[21:05] it'll enhance the stewardship of city
[21:08] resources.
[21:12] And the way we can maintain this
[21:14] convenience and accessibility is we have
[21:17] 247 accessibility of two outside bill
[21:20] payment kiosk. one on the front of the
[21:22] building on Hill Street side and the
[21:24] drive-thru. There's one on the third
[21:25] lane of the drive-thru. The online
[21:28] customer portal which allows customers
[21:30] to view their bill, pay their bill, see
[21:32] their usage, pay over the phone, our
[21:35] online service contract and system
[21:38] operations are readily available to
[21:40] restore services to the remote meters
[21:42] that were disconnected.
[21:45] Section five, application for new
[21:48] service. This was updated to define the
[21:51] city's consistent treatment and
[21:53] enforcement of all residential accounts
[21:55] as combined utility accounts.
[21:58] No opting out of residential services
[22:01] unless all services are on maintenance
[22:03] disconnect.
[22:07] Section 5.2 transfer residential
[22:10] service. This was se this was a
[22:13] separated section regarding the transfer
[22:15] of service for residential services. Um,
[22:18] it was not clear in the prior revision
[22:22] and we made it more clear with the
[22:24] details of what's needed. Section 7.4
[22:29] for the billing period and delinquent
[22:31] statements. We increase the time in
[22:34] which customers can make payments from
[22:36] 6:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on the due date
[22:40] to avoid penalties and subjectivity to
[22:43] disconnection. So that's given an
[22:45] additional almost six hours.
[22:51] Section 8, payment options. The chart
[22:54] was updated with graphics for easier
[22:56] reading. Um it looks really good. TJ
[23:00] helped me get that um revised. We
[23:03] removed the Dropbox location because
[23:05] this service ended on 516 of 24 because
[23:08] it was not a practical service that the
[23:10] city was providing anymore.
[23:12] We added the bill payment kiosk inside
[23:15] of customer service. We added the bill
[23:17] payment kiosk in front of one Griffin
[23:19] Center. And we updated the hours for the
[23:22] office time closing at 5.
[23:27] Section 8.3, the Dropbox locations.
[23:30] Again, this was removed um May 16th of
[23:33] 2024 since hence we removed it from the
[23:36] policy.
[23:39] Section 11, broken pipe policy. We
[23:42] updated the broken pipe policy with a
[23:44] structure that will be utilized to
[23:46] calculate the broken pipe credit more
[23:48] fairly when in the event the customer
[23:51] has not been at the location for 12
[23:53] months.
[23:54] >> Wow. Okay.
[24:00] » Section 13, energy assessments. We added
[24:04] this into our policy.
[24:06] The energy assessments request to assist
[24:09] customers un in understanding their
[24:11] household energy usage and identifying
[24:14] potential opportunities to reduce
[24:16] utility cost.
[24:21] Section 18.2
[24:23] health of a resident. We propose
[24:26] increasing the health of a resident
[24:27] benefit from an additional one day which
[24:30] it is currently to an additional 5-day
[24:33] extension.
[24:41] This slide shows a comparison of
[24:45] the what we're proposing for the health
[24:46] of a resident. All customers, if the
[24:49] bill date was August 28th, the due date
[24:53] would be September 14th. The last day to
[24:57] pay would be September 21st with a
[24:59] disconnection of September 22nd.
[25:03] Currently under our billing or our
[25:05] policy, the bill date should it be
[25:08] August 28th, the due date is September
[25:11] 14th.
[25:12] The last day to pay would be September
[25:15] 22nd. It's that one additional day and
[25:19] the disconnection date would be
[25:20] September 23rd.
[25:23] What staff is proposing is that the last
[25:26] day to pay would become Monday,
[25:28] September 28th since Saturday the 26 the
[25:32] 26th of the is on a Saturday and then
[25:35] the disconnection date would be
[25:36] September 29th.
[25:40] This and also I noted additional time is
[25:44] also dependent on extreme weather
[25:46] conditions for hot and cold weekends and
[25:49] holidays. So just like the 26 was on a
[25:52] Saturday, there's additional days in
[25:54] there that's factored.
[26:00] Section 22, customer communications
[26:04] changing from the allotted time for a
[26:06] representative to resolve a customer's
[26:08] issue from 48 hours to 24 hours. If we
[26:11] are all on staff at 8:00, there's no
[26:14] reason that we can't get an answer but
[26:16] within 24 hours.
[26:20] » [clears throat]
[26:23] » Section 22 complaint procedure. We
[26:26] change from the written complaint may be
[26:28] filed with the appropriate utility
[26:30] director or design to the assistant city
[26:33] manager of utilities and the final
[26:35] escalation remain the city manager.
[26:43] Section 24, the prospective adopt
[26:45] adoption date would be Octo October 13
[26:49] of 2026.
[26:53] » Any questions?
[26:55] >> Thank you. Any questions from board
[26:57] members?
[26:58] >> Yes. I will start just by saying thank
[26:59] you to you and your team because good
[27:01] customer service can solve most
[27:03] problems. So, thank you for the work you
[27:04] do. But I do have several questions
[27:07] regarding the the proposed language. So,
[27:10] first on page six in the definitions,
[27:12] the due date still says statement must
[27:16] be paid by 6 pm.
[27:19] Does that need to be corrected to 11:59?
[27:21] >> Yes.
[27:22] >> Okay. And then on page eight,
[27:25] >> Commissioner Fer, that was in
[27:26] definitions.
[27:27] >> Yes, ma'am.
[27:29] On page eight, it mentions a return trip
[27:34] fee, but there is no such thing in the
[27:36] definitions. Does that need to be added?
[27:38] We could.
[27:39] >> Okay.
[27:41] Uh, in the definitions it says
[27:43] connection fee, but for the rest of the
[27:45] document when it's mentioned, it's
[27:47] called a connect fee. If that's
[27:49] something that potentially wouldn't hold
[27:51] up in court, could we get that one or
[27:54] the other?
[27:55] >> Okay.
[27:57] >> And then I can point out the sections
[28:00] where I found that if you'd like, but I
[28:02] don't have to.
[28:03] >> I can I can.
[28:04] >> Okay. And then the other thing I have is
[28:09] there are two or there are two instances
[28:13] I found of his or her being used whereas
[28:16] the rest of the document uses there or
[28:18] they. So once again if we could get that
[28:21] consistent preferably with the
[28:22] genderneutral they or there. And then my
[28:25] last thing is a question about the grace
[28:28] period just to check. So, the extended
[28:31] time um from 6:00 to 11:59 is on the due
[28:35] date. Correct.
[28:36] >> Right.
[28:36] >> But note uh late fee is charged until
[28:40] after the 7-day grace period.
[28:42] >> The next d the next day after the due
[28:44] date.
[28:45] >> The next day after the So, what is the
[28:47] grace period for?
[28:49] >> The grace period keeps them from being
[28:51] disconnected for seven days.
[28:53] >> Oh, okay. Good.
[28:54] >> Yes. penalty occurs the next day after
[28:56] the due date, but the grace period is to
[28:59] withhold disconnection for seven days.
[29:01] >> Okay. Thank you for the clarification.
[29:04] >> Thank you, Mr. Per.
[29:05] >> Um, Mr. Wright,
[29:08] >> have we thought about this staying open
[29:09] one day a week till 6? Have you thought
[29:12] about that just because of people who
[29:14] work wouldn't have to take so much time
[29:15] off if they needed to come in?
[29:22] I think that could be in consideration.
[29:24] Um
[29:26] but again the in office traffic is two
[29:30] an average of two per day
[29:32] >> right
[29:32] >> and that that has not changed. Um I went
[29:35] back three months and and consistently
[29:37] and and often it's the same two
[29:40] >> right if it's two if it's two every day
[29:43] if you only open one day
[29:44] >> right
[29:45] >> it would be 10 if you actually got them
[29:47] all in.
[29:49] just a consideration to see if you could
[29:51] see what that would do to your
[29:54] situation.
[29:55] >> Sure.
[30:02] » Any other questions or comments?
[30:04] >> Great job.
[30:07] >> And again, thank y'all for y'all's
[30:08] exceptional service. Um, y'all make a
[30:11] difference every day and make our lives
[30:12] a whole lot easier than it used to be.
[30:14] So,
[30:15] >> thank you. And mayor, just a point of
[30:17] clarification, [clears throat] these
[30:18] policies will be on the agenda for the
[30:20] 13th, as well as some of the contracts
[30:22] to approve us to form. Um, so if there's
[30:24] any comments or concerns that you want
[30:26] us to address between now and 13, please
[30:27] let us know.
[30:29] >> Thank you.
[30:31] All right. Uh, last item is to discuss
[30:32] proposed 2026 mill rate. City manager
[30:34] Jessica Connor will address.
[30:43] Okay, it's that time of year again where
[30:45] it is time to set our millage rate. And
[30:47] unfortunately, this year has been a
[30:49] little bit um of a challenge. If you'll
[30:51] remember correctly, we had our House
[30:53] Bill 581. We've talked about Senate Bill
[30:55] 33. There's been a lot of things at the
[30:57] state legislature that has come up that
[30:59] has created some concern um for
[31:01] localities, specifically ours, because
[31:03] we did not opt out of House Bill 581,
[31:06] but the county did, as did the school
[31:08] system. So the tax commissioner has had
[31:10] some issues as long as well as the tax
[31:12] assessor in calculating the millage
[31:14] rates for this year which is why we are
[31:16] a little bit behind on that. Um but I
[31:18] would like to present to you the millage
[31:19] rate discussion for today and then
[31:21] adoption on October 13th as well. If you
[31:24] look at the historical millage rates um
[31:26] starting in 2016 so 10 years ago you
[31:29] were taxing at a rate of 7.771.
[31:32] Um as of today we are recommending a
[31:34] millage rate of 5.609 609 which is the
[31:37] roll back rate. Um that's 900s of a roll
[31:40] back from last year's 2025. So that
[31:43] overall decrease is 2.702 mills or 34%
[31:47] of the tax rate.
[31:50] The 2025 digest versus the 2026 digest.
[31:54] You can see some growth within that
[31:55] digest at 945 million last year compared
[31:58] to 952 and a half this year. um
[32:01] reassessments and other digest changes
[32:03] remained about the same at 15 million.
[32:05] So that does give us that roll back rate
[32:07] of 5.609 when also calculating loss. So
[32:11] if you look at property tax revenue,
[32:13] what we budgeted this year for FY27 is
[32:16] 6,200. Yes, sir.
[32:17] >> On on page one, because I'm I heard you
[32:20] and I thought I was hearing you right.
[32:22] You said 5.069
[32:24] and then on
[32:26] >> Okay. On the next page is 5.60. Okay.
[32:29] >> 5.609. 69.
[32:31] >> Okay.
[32:31] >> No, Commissioner Fuller caught that. So,
[32:33] I changed it this morning. So, you
[32:34] should have the updated 5.609.
[32:37] >> On my on my computer, it doesn't say
[32:39] that, but that's fine. It says
[32:40] >> not updated.
[32:41] >> It's not updated on this. That's
[32:43] >> I'm sorry. It's in the
[32:44] >> So, it's 5.609.
[32:45] >> 5.69.
[32:47] >> Um, so the roll back rate is 5.609. If
[32:50] you look at the current rate, uh, the
[32:52] property tax revenue budgeted for fiscal
[32:54] year 2027 is 6,281,735.
[32:58] You have to remember for the city that
[33:00] we actually have three different
[33:01] property tax funds. We have our general
[33:03] fund and then we have TAD 1 and TAD 2.
[33:05] So if you look at that together, there's
[33:07] 5,349,735
[33:10] budgeted for general fund, $41,000 for
[33:13] TAD 1, which is the downtown district,
[33:15] and then 531,000 for TAD 2, which is the
[33:19] district over by Kroger, where we still
[33:21] have Kroger bonds that we are paying.
[33:22] You can see the difference in what was
[33:24] budgeted for FY26. we actually did um
[33:27] increase the amount that we budgeted.
[33:29] And so if you look at keeping the
[33:31] current rate, what that 100% collections
[33:33] would be for the general fund um is
[33:35] right at sort of the what we budgeted if
[33:37] you collected 95% which we're somewhere
[33:40] in between 90 and 95% each year. Um we
[33:43] it's a little less with that uh current
[33:45] rate. So if you look at the roll back
[33:47] rate, of course, that does sort of
[33:49] decrease the amount that we would
[33:50] receive. Um when you look at property
[33:52] tax revenue budgeted for FY26 it shows
[33:55] you there and FY25 that roll back rate
[33:58] um for general fund at 100% collections
[34:01] will be 5.342
[34:02] at 95% collections it would be 5,75,647.
[34:07] So it will be a little less than what is
[34:09] budgeted. Um but I still think it is it
[34:11] is doable for what we've been able to do
[34:13] the last several years. So I just need
[34:15] to know from you all um what you would
[34:17] like to do because we have to advertise
[34:19] and depending on what our choice is
[34:21] either the current rate uh an increase
[34:24] rate or the roll back rate would depend
[34:25] on how many times we have to advertise
[34:28] and how many hearings we have to have
[34:29] >> and our lost revenue continues to
[34:31] outperform what we
[34:33] >> Yes. Our lost revenue brings in a little
[34:34] over $6 million now. So more than
[34:36] property tax.
[34:38] >> Roll it back.
[34:39] [clears throat]
[34:40] >> Roll it back.
[34:41] >> Roll back.
[34:42] >> Okay.
[34:42] >> All right. That makes it easy. Please,
[34:44] we'll have one public hearing.
[34:49] » I mean, roll back. Jesus.
[34:52] >> Oh, okay. Well, then we will have one um we'll advertise it in the next
[34:56] couple days and then we'll be able to
[34:58] have one public hearing in the adoption
[34:59] on the 13th.
[34:59] >> Perfect. All right. All right.
[35:01] [laughter]
[35:02] >> Is there anything else that you need to
[35:04] discuss with us this morning?
[35:05] >> No, sir.
[35:06] >> Do we have anything from any commission?
[35:07] >> Oh, yes, we do. I'm so sorry. We have to
[35:09] tell you about the land bank and their
[35:11] requests.
[35:13] Yes. So, uh
[35:16] we're going to get a slide up for you
[35:17] guys. It should be very very brief. I
[35:19] know it never is when I'm up here. Um
[35:21] but I did want to address we have an
[35:23] interlocal um agreement an amendment to
[35:25] our interlocal agreement that
[35:27] established the land bank um that was uh
[35:30] presented and kind of negotiated over the last year. Um for the most part
[35:35] staff has very few concerns uh that
[35:38] would be relevant to the commission. And
[35:39] a lot of it is is back of house uh you
[35:42] know uh how we're going to to change a
[35:45] few commas uh and things of that nature.
[35:47] But um there is a request uh under
[35:50] OCGA48-4-110C
[35:53] in that proposal that they have drafted
[35:56] um where that state law allows LBA with
[35:59] the agreement from the city and county
[36:01] to take a percentage of the property
[36:03] taxes collected from properties that LBA
[36:06] sells for a specific term following the
[36:08] sale of that property. um it does
[36:10] exclude state and school district
[36:11] property taxes and in the proposal that
[36:13] they have submitted um LBA would retain
[36:17] up to 75% of city county property taxes
[36:20] for a period of 5 years from the date
[36:23] that they convey the property. Um I had
[36:26] hoped to actually present numbers to you
[36:27] guys to be able to show you uh an
[36:30] example of how this uh would impact us
[36:32] using the most recent sales that that
[36:34] LBA has conducted. Um I'd also hope to
[36:36] have an answer on how the sidelot
[36:39] program would impact this. So as you
[36:40] know the sidelot you know may be merged
[36:42] in with another parcel. Um and those are
[36:44] given for free. So um you know would
[36:46] that then would they be expecting to
[36:48] retain the property taxes for that
[36:50] entire parcel uh as opposed to the
[36:52] portion that you know is no longer
[36:54] separate uh that was conveyed by LBA.
[36:57] I've not received an answer to that
[36:58] portion and because of the delay that we
[37:01] had in getting our digest information I
[37:03] wasn't able to present full numbers to
[37:04] you. Uh but I will candidly say that
[37:06] from a staff perspective I have concerns
[37:08] about this in light of the property tax
[37:10] changes that are happening within our
[37:11] state. Um and you know there it is up to
[37:16] 75%. So if you would like to propose an
[37:18] alternate percentage uh that is
[37:20] something that we could go back to them
[37:21] with or if you want to let them know
[37:22] that you would like it to remain at 0%.
[37:25] Um I think their main rationale here is
[37:28] that LBA would like to eventually uh be
[37:31] independent. uh they would like to be
[37:33] financially independent and not have to
[37:35] take contributions from the city and the
[37:36] county. Um I do know that it was
[37:38] presented to the county yesterday. For
[37:40] whatever reason, they did not have uh a
[37:43] draft presented at their working
[37:45] session. Um but they also voiced
[37:47] concerns and I think some of them noted
[37:49] that uh the development authority, for
[37:51] example, uh was not self-sufficient on
[37:54] its own uh was something that was
[37:56] mentioned. So, they had concerns for
[37:58] that that sort of being the the logic
[38:00] here enough to rationalize giving 75% of
[38:02] those of those property taxes. So, uh
[38:05] but I wanted to present it to you before
[38:06] we continue to um proceed with this
[38:08] draft. Once that is completed and the
[38:11] county has approved whatever version
[38:12] they're willing to approve, we would
[38:13] present it back to all of you.
[38:15] >> But we're right now we're getting
[38:16] property tax when the property sells if
[38:18] any back tax is owed.
[38:21] >> Um they it extinguishes. So, so land
[38:23] bank exists to be able to extinguish. So
[38:26] what
[38:28] >> right now when they sell the property to
[38:30] a private property owner for home
[38:31] ownership um that property goes back
[38:33] onto the tax roles this would make it
[38:35] where
[38:36] >> in the future
[38:37] >> yes 5 years following that sale lb would
[38:40] retain 75% of those taxes
[38:43] for the property that went back onto the
[38:45] tax roles
[38:47] >> and the city would only obtain 25%. I'd
[38:49] rather have our own money and then be
[38:50] able to distribute money back to the
[38:52] land bank authority
[38:54] >> for
[38:56] [cough]
[38:56] I [clears throat] mean like like the
[38:58] system is now we get the property tax
[38:59] anyway and then reimburse but whatever
[39:01] staff
[39:02] >> okay now
[39:03] >> staff staffing before we go any further
[39:06] >> the land bank said yesterday that we
[39:08] already talked about giving them 25%.
[39:11] No, what we had talked about and I
[39:13] believe that that was presented by John,
[39:14] right? Um I had a phone conversation
[39:16] with John and I asked, you know, we
[39:18] would present and say, would the board
[39:19] be willing to give less less than that?
[39:22] So that's why I noted that it was up to
[39:23] 75% and we could discuss with them the
[39:26] potential for doing less than that. Um
[39:29] but I was very candid with them to to
[39:30] make note that staff had concerns about
[39:32] it, especially in light of our state
[39:33] property tax concerns right now. So
[39:35] considering that if they want to be
[39:37] self-sufficient, wouldn't that give them
[39:40] more money maybe to be able to actually
[39:44] clear the land instead of having
[39:46] somebody else clear land so it make it
[39:48] easier to get rid of?
[39:51] >> Being very candid, right now they have
[39:53] plenty and what we give them is not
[39:55] always being used,
[39:56] >> right? Absolutely.
[39:57] >> So I think them having more money is not
[40:00] going to solve the problems that I think
[40:01] Lamb Bank has had operationally. They've
[40:03] made great strides.
[40:05] >> Um, but I I personally would like to see
[40:07] more progress before I think staff could confidently recommend to you for
[40:11] you to give them property taxes for a
[40:13] 5-year period after a sale.
[40:15] >> But if we give them the property tax,
[40:16] that would cut out what we give them
[40:18] every year. That's the that's the
[40:20] ultimate goal.
[40:21] >> The that would be their ultimate goal.
[40:23] Yes. Uh but you would also lose the
[40:25] ability to have oversight if that
[40:27] process was not working. So there is a
[40:31] um a benefit to you holding the purse
[40:33] strings. There is a check uh sort of a
[40:36] checks and balances as there is with any
[40:38] legislative authority. Um so you would
[40:41] be handing them the opportunity to go
[40:43] and kind of make their own destiny at
[40:45] that point. Um whereas currently uh we approve their budget every year and
[40:50] we would tell them how much we would be
[40:52] willing to contribute. Um, but they
[40:55] would have a portion that would be
[40:57] within a uh a fund balance for them to utilize if they desire.
[41:02] >> Okay.
[41:06] » Anyone else have anything? Do you have a
[41:08] consensus?
[41:08] >> I just think it should remain zero.
[41:10] >> Okay.
[41:10] >> I do know that there's um other things
[41:12] that the land bank can do to recoup
[41:16] money too. I s I was doing some research
[41:18] on that. So, is there there's some other
[41:19] ways they can actually put in uh
[41:22] penalties more on businesses that we can
[41:26] do like um if the property
[41:29] sits vacant for more than 180 days, we
[41:31] can start finding them.
[41:33] >> We have a a
[41:36] registration, a vacant property
[41:38] registration that's on the ROS, but that
[41:40] would be the the the city is the
[41:41] enforcing authority for that. Um and
[41:44] it's only that they have to register. So
[41:47] it it there's not a a penalty factor um
[41:50] for it being vacant. Um they also and
[41:53] this was one of the county's main
[41:54] concerns. Something that they wanted to
[41:55] see is what is the land bank doing um to be able to claw back property if
[42:01] someone sells it to someone who is not
[42:03] uh who's not going to reside there,
[42:04] who's not a homeowner. Um they have
[42:06] created policies and procedures. Those
[42:08] have been adopted by the land bank. And
[42:10] um I think that John did a a kind of a a
[42:12] great job explaining that to them. And
[42:13] if you all would like to see those
[42:14] policies, we can. Um, to me, I think my
[42:17] main concern is really the the the
[42:19] actual tax allocation itself. Um, but
[42:22] the land bank, their ability to be able
[42:24] to make money is to sell properties for
[42:26] a greater cost.
[42:27] >> Um, so right now they, you know, they've
[42:30] established through those policies what
[42:32] their uh sales rate would be and that
[42:35] would be how they would potentially
[42:36] generate income. Um but many of the
[42:38] properties they possess have significant
[42:40] leans from the city uh for nuisance
[42:42] abatement that we receive 75% paid back
[42:45] to us right
[42:46] >> for those costs. Um so one way for them
[42:48] to have more would be for us to tell
[42:50] them they can um remove our leans. Uh
[42:53] and that is something that's under their
[42:55] proposed interlocal agreement as well
[42:56] that we could consider doing an
[42:58] agreement for that. But right now, we
[42:59] have an agreement in place with them um
[43:01] through a a prior board that the city
[43:03] has paid back at a rate of 75% for any
[43:05] proceeds that they receive at the sale
[43:07] of property.
[43:08] >> Okay. But we do like to see the policies
[43:10] because I know that the county got them.
[43:13] I know they were talking about it last
[43:15] night.
[43:15] >> They had not received them. Um John John
[43:18] was recommending that if they would like
[43:19] them then they asked we can provide
[43:21] them.
[43:23] >> I was expecting him to be here because
[43:24] he said he was going to be here.
[43:26] >> So, okay. Any other questions or
[43:29] comments?
[43:31] >> Is the consensus that remains zero?
[43:33] >> Leave it alone. I don't I'm not
[43:34] interested in giving any of our
[43:36] authority away to this board more than
[43:39] what they already have.
[43:40] >> Okay.
[43:40] >> I'll be in agreement with that.
[43:42] >> Okay.
[43:43] >> Anyone else?
[43:44] >> All right.
[43:45] >> Thank you all very much. [clears throat]
[43:48] I
[43:48] >> think that's our agenda for this
[43:49] morning. If we don't have anything else,
[43:51] entertain a motion to adjurnn.
[43:52] >> Make a motion.
[43:53] >> Second. Uh, Commissioner Murray,
[43:56] seconded by Commissioner. All fify by
[43:59] raising