[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

City of Griffin Board of Commissioners' Workshop September 22, 2026

Transcript