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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCalled Commission Meeting July 31, 2018 CALLED MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER July 31, 2018 Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 31, 2018, the Honorable Hardie Davis, Jr., Mayor, presiding. PRESENT: Hons. Jefferson, Sias, Frantom, M. Williams, Davis, D. Williams, Hasan and Smith, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. ABSENT: Hons. Guilfoyle and Fennoy, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Mr. Mayor: All right, we’ll call this meeting to order. All right, let me have everybody’s attention. We have in front of us, again, it would be good if we had more of our people here. Hopefully that will be the case here shortly so I’m going to continue to move forward. Director Williams, we’ll come back after the meeting and address this. We’ll come back after our executive session. Okay. Yeah. All right, the Chair recognizes Attorney MacKenzie. 1. LEGAL MEETING A. Pending and potential litigation B. Real estate C. Personnel Mr. MacKenzie: I would entertain a motion to go into an executive session to discuss pending and potential litigation, real estate and personnel. Mr. Jefferson: So move. Mr. Frantom: Second. Mr. Mayor: A motion and a second. Voting. Ms. Davis and Mr. M. Williams out. Motion carries 6-0. \[EXECUTIVE SESSION\] 2. Motion to authorize execution by the Mayor of the affidavit of compliance with Georgia’s Open Meeting Act. Mr. MacKenzie: A motion to execute the closed meeting affidavit. Mr. Sias: So move. Mr. Frantom: Second. 1 Mr. Hasan out. Motion carries 7-0. Mr. Mayor: Thank you, Ms. Bonner. All right, we are delighted to have joining us for their final week of camp Ms. Tameka Allen, our Director of Information Technology, and her entire team for the Cyber Summer Boot Camp. Ms. Allen, if you’ll come and tell us who you are. To the Commissioners we’re going to stand. If everybody will come in here after she speaks, we’re going to take a photo with these students, their last week before they go off to school. We are excited that you’ve learned a lot. We couldn’t be more proud of you guys and ladies for what you’ve learned and we know you’re going to be stellar students. We wish you the best for the 2018-2019 school year. Ms. Allen. Ms. Allen: Thank you, Mr. Mayor and members of the Commission. Again this is our last class that we’ve had this summer. We have in Information Technology as well as our two interns that are joining us have truly enjoyed it. We have a great group of students here from various schools throughout Richmond County including A. R. Johnson, Tutt, Langford, virtual school, St. Mary’s, so we’re very proud to have them here with us and they have done an awesome, phenomenal job and we again want to thank the administration and Commission for everything that they have done in allowing us to have this program because this is the future for Augusta and cyber robotics as well. We want to make sure that our students are aware of and at least to be exposed as young as they are. These are rising sixth through eighth graders so I am very proud of them and I’m going to ask all of them to get up and we’re going to take a picture. Mr. Mayor: And if commissioners will come up and we’re going to stand. Ms. Allen: Thank you, guys. \[APPLAUSE\] Mr. Mayor: Again, congratulations to all of the students. Commissioner Sias wants, there are two of you who are from his summer camp. I don’t know who you are. Mr. Sias: Stop my two former summer campers and tell them to raise their hands. Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, very good. Thank you. The Chair recognizes the Mayor Pro Tem for a motion. Ms. Davis: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’d like to make a motion to approve the appointment of Crystal Eskola as Interim Director of Animal Services effective immediately. Mr. Jefferson: Second. Mr. Mayor: I’ve got a motion and a proper second. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 5 for a motion. 2 Mr. Jefferson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’d like to make a motion to approve the settlement of all claims for Andrea Herrin with a salary increase of 12.53% and a lump sum payment of $10,000 contingent upon execution of release. Mr. Sias: Second. Mr. Mayor: A motion and a proper second. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 7 for a motion. Mr. Frantom: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’d make a motion to transfer $56,508.12 from the contingency fund for a rental payment to cover months July, August, September, October, November and December for Housing & Community Development rental payments through December, 2018. Mr. Hasan: Second. Mr. Mayor: I have a motion and a proper second. Voting. Mr. D. Williams votes No. Motion carries 7-1. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 4 for a motion. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. Move to appoint Mr. Robert Sherman as Director of Planning and Development at an annual salary of $109,000 and a monthly car allowance of $400,000, of $400, effective August 12. Rob, you wasn’t that hot okay. Mr. Frantom: Second. Mr. Hasan: He would cancel the salary and keep the car allowance. Mr. Mayor: Madam Clerk, are you clear on that motion? Mr. Sias: I cleaned that up, Madam Clerk, that $400. The Clerk: You did. th Mr. Mayor: I’ve got a motion and a proper second from the commissioner from the 7. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. 3 Mr. Mayor: I’ll clarify it for you. You got a second from the diaper dandy himself. I’ll th recognize the commissioner from the 6 for a motion. Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion to approve condemnation of 4254 Windsor Spring Road and 4252 Windsor Spring Road. Ms. Davis: Second. Mr. Mayor: I’ve got a motion and a proper second. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 4 for a motion. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. Motion to approve project partnership agreement between the Corps of Engineers and Augusta, Georgia for the Rocky Creek Storm Water Project. Ms. Davis: Second. Mr. Mayor: A motion and a proper second. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. Mr. Mayor: I want to take a moment and acknowledge the work of the first responders on yesterday. We had a spill of ethanol at Sand Bar Ferry and 520 and our first responders were quick to respond. That includes not only our Fire Department and EMA but the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. So kudos to all of our team members. I believe that Utilities and Engineering were also called to respond to that matter to make sure that we responded in an appropriate way and so thank you for your great work in responding to a matter that was handled expeditiously but also safely as well. This is the kind of people we’ve got working for the City of Augusta and you’re to be commended for that. Thank you all. All right, I think we’ve got one matter before us from a special called meeting perspective. The Chair recognizes Madam Administrator. 3. Set proposed millage rates for 2018. (Requested by the Administrator) Ms. Jackson: It is time to set our millage rate for 2018. Our Finance Director, Donna Williams, has a brief presentation and a recommendation. I’ve sent those materials out to you all last night. She can go over those materials and answer any questions you have at this time. Ms. Williams: Good afternoon and this brief presentation has gotten briefer by the moment so if you don’t mind, I’ll kind of slide through the information that you’re already familiar with, the way the state of Georgia sets up the requirements for the millage rate process. This is the information that begins to be pertinent to us where the Tax Commissioner forwards to us the digest that we use to levy the amount of taxes and this particular rate, the one that’s required to be advertised is for the General Fund M & O. As you can see in this information it is required that we publish the date and time that we would set the permanent millage rate. I have tentatively filled 4 in this information according to the calendar that was already provided to you guys setting August 14 as the date for the final millage rate. I would ask that we use 11:00 since we already have a meeting scheduled at that time if that is agreeable. If not, just let us know because I have to put this in the body of the advertisement. What I have done here is to use the digest and I have computed the roll back millage rate, which is shown there at 9.756, which is down slightly from the previous year and I’ll go through that. I’ve got another slide that shows that. This is the timeline that was already provided for ya’ll that today we would set the proposed millage rate. The ad for the five-year history will not go in until Friday because of some deadline problems and then on August 14 we would adopt the final millage rates for 2018. Those two slides had to do with not adopting the millage rate which is currently is not what we’re recommending. We are going to recommend going with the proposed rates as a roll back millage rate. Those are shown on this slide as the calculated millage rates. We showed 2016, 2017 as well as 2018. Then in the far right column you see the differences between last year’s rate to this year’s rate. For all taxing districts the roll back rate went down except in urban services where it went, the roll back rate actually went up which does occasionally happen. It’s a function of the way the prior year and current year digest are computed. This is the famous slide for your $100,000 house which shows the effect of those roll back rates on all areas. If you live in the suburban district, the change is $2.07. That would be a decrease. If you live in the urban services district the change is $1.54 less and in Blythe because they have a different computation for their fire protection it is still $2.07 and those are all decreases. This is the tax cap computation. It gets a little skewed trying to fit it on this format. You are currently in the General Fund, you are .647 mills below the computed tax cap. That equates to a little over $3 million dollars’ worth of taxes. In the urban service fund you are well under the cap, 16.something mills, and in the fire protection it’s a little less than one mill below the computed tax cap. The action that we’re requesting today is that you approve the proposed mill rates for each taxing district, that I be allowed to advertise the required five-year history of the digest and to schedule as August 14 at the time that you decide for the meeting to adopt the rates that are proposed. Once that is done, after the adoption, then of course the Tax Commissioner and the Tax Assessor go to the Department of Revenue with the entire digest package to get approval by the State. Once it is approved by the State, the Tax Commissioner has the authority to mail out the bills. Any questions? th Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, the Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 9 for a question. Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Donna, help me understand something when we do this roll back. Now exactly what causes us to do a roll back now, then first of the year we do, for the end of the year we do an increase. This is going to help us in what capacity I guess I’m asking. Ms. Williams: This sets the millage rate for the tax bills that go out this year so we have already included this amount of revenue projected when we gave you the budget that you adopted. You have to adopt the budget anticipating what your digest and your tax collections are going to be towards the end of the year. In answer to your questions, no, sir, I will not be coming back to you another time this year to ask you to change the millage rate. It’s pretty much a one-time deal. Mr. M. Williams: It’s an increase of what? 5 Ms. Williams: It’s a decrease. Mr. M. Williams: A decrease. Ms. Williams: Yes, sir. Mr. M. Williams: How much? Ms. Williams: This slide right here. .03 mills in the General Fund, .002 mills for Capital Outlay, .009 mills for Fire Protection. Those are all decreases. The Urban Service District roll back rate went up .006 and the amounts which would equate to 21 cents on a $100,000 house in the Urban Service District. Mr. M. Williams: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I’m just thinking ahead of some incidents where it’s going to be coming this way pretty quickly and I’m going to remind this body of where we are now when it comes up but I’ve got no problem with this. Mr. Mayor: Okay, all right, Director Williams, thank you. On page, not page, on slide four I think it’s appropriate to mention that there is an increase from last year to this year in terms our gross digest. Ms. Williams: That is correct. Mr. Mayor: Which is again a good thing. Ms. Williams: It is. Mr. Mayor: I want to point that out to everybody. Ms. Williams: It is a little over 1% which is pretty close to what we put in the budget. Mr. Mayor: That’s correct. Mr. Frantom: (inaudible). Mr. Mayor: Yes. Mr. Frantom: (inaudible). Ms. Williams: No, sir. You’ve got about a $50 million dollar increase in the digest after a $30 million dollar decrease in your motor vehicle digest. We continue to see that slide due to the effects of the TAVT as it continues, as people sell their older vehicles and buy newer ones. Mr. Mayor: Yeah, and I think the legislature just recently made some additional enhancements to try to true that up a little bit more. 6 Ms. Williams: Hoping those work well for us. Mr. Mayor: We’ve got a senator over there so we’re counting on him to lead the charge th on that. All right. Again, good news. The Chair recognizes the commissioner from the 7. Mr. Frantom: Can I ask Miss Donna a question? Mr. Mayor: Absolutely. Mr. Frantom: Can you explain 2017/2018 net taxes dollar increase? That’s why I said a million dollars because those two numbers went from a negative to a plus. What does that mean? Ms. Williams: This kind of goes back to my disclaimer on a previous slide that this is a required format from the state. Your actual motor vehicle tax is collected which are used in this computation. It applies one mill rate against the whole digest. It doesn’t work that way. The motor vehicle digest because you are billed for your motor vehicle ad valorem taxes all during the year, it uses the prior year millage rate. So this number at the bottom while it is required by the State, it is not an accurate reflection of your taxes to be collected. It is also at 100% and does not take into account the early payment discount that we get. That’s on that slide. Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Mayor Pro Tem. Ms. Davis: I’d like to make a motion to approve this as presented. Mr. Mayor: All right, I’ve got a motion and a proper second. Voting. Motion carries 8-0. Ms. Williams: Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor: All right, Administrator Jackson, anything else with regards to that? Ms. Jackson: I have nothing else on this matter. Thank you very much for your approval. Mr. Mayor: Ms. Bonner, that’s all we’ve got. \[MEETING ADJOURNED\] Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission 7 CERTIFICATION: I, Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Called Meeting of the Augusta Richmond County Commission held on July 31, 2018. ________________________ Clerk of Commission 8