Newspaper Page Text
January 1, 2014
PAGE 7A
® Reporter
Forsyth budget eyes big hikes in utilities
But officials say those increases to be changed
Editor’s note: This arti
cle appeared in the Dec.
25 Reporter but was inad
vertently cut short. Here it
is in its entirety.
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
The city of Forsyth is
proposing steep utility
rate increases in its 2014
budget plan, but city offi
cials now say that propos
al isn't going anywhere.
As of Christmas week,
the 2014 budget plan
included steep hikes in
commercial rates recom
mended by city consult
ant John Hewitt, includ
ing a 181-percent
increase in sewer rates,
and a 20-percent increase
in electric rates. For resi
dential customers, the
budget proposed 10 per
cent rate increases for
both sewer and electric
services. There is also a
30 percent hike in cable
rates.
City council discussed
the sticker-shocking
budget at their Dec. 17
meeting. But on Dec. 23,
city administrator
Thomas White said there
have already been drastic
changes in the budget
since it was presented to
council last week and
there are more to come.
"That is not going to
happen," said White,
when asked about the 181
percent increase in the
sewer rate for businesses.
Council member Eric
Wilson said council is
working diligently to bal
ance the city's budget
without the rate increases
recommended by Hewitt.
He said some increases
will be necessary because
the city has absorbed ris
ing costs in the electricity
it buys for several years
without passing them on
to customers, and the city
depends on profits from
electricity to fund other
city departments.
However, he considers
increases of 20 percent or
more out of the question.
Wilson said there are
still expenses that can be
cut. Council members did
not get to see the expens
es until their "marathon
budget work session" on
Friday the 13th, and
some of the expenses they
saw were not considered
necessary by all council
members. Wilson expects
the council to be able to
come up with a budget
they can present to the
public by the Jan. 7 pub
lic hearing.
As of last week, it
appeared the budget
would be $1.4 million
larger than the 2013
budget. Mayor John
Howard had said it was
his goal for the city to
have its 2014 budget in
place by the new year, but
that goal seemed unlikely
after the meeting.
While it's a work in
progress, copies of the
current budget plan are
now available for review
at City Hall, and anyone
wishing to speak to coun
cil on the budget can do
so at a public hearing
during the council meet
ing on Tuesday, Jan. 7,
that begins at 6 p.m.
The public hearing on
the budget announced for
Dec. 17 was cancelled
because the budget had
not been available to the
public. In fact, White said
he had just emailed the
proposed budget to coun
cil shortly before the
meeting. White said he
had reduced spending in
the budget by $400,000
from the budget council
had seen the preceding
week by taking out the
reserve fund and taking
out repayment of money
the city borrowed from
the Municipal Trust
Fund.
"All you could find was
$400,000?" asked council
member JoAnna Banks.
White replied that there
is a $600,000 increase in
electricity costs for the
city in 2014. He said the
proposed budget is
$400,000 less than the
2013 budget. White said
the proposed budget is
balanced and that he cut
all raises and all fluff.
"We spent eight hours
up here Friday on a budg
et that's not doable," said
council member Jimmy
Jones.
City attorney Bobby
Melton cautioned council
that the public has a
right to see the proposed
budget and voice opinion
on it before it is adopted
and that the city is legal
ly obligated to advertise
the budget and the hear
ing. He said the earliest
council can now pass a
budget will be Jan. 21,
and it will need to pass
an emergency budget at
its Jan. 7 meeting to con
tinue operating.
After setting the new
timeline for approving the
budget, council moved on
to approve paying the
city's bills in the amount
of $244,279. Jones asked
how long it takes for cred
itors to get paid after
council approved pay
ment. City clerk Janice
Hall said that she does
not write checks to pay
the bills until the money
is in the city's account,
which will be the full
amount that the city just
approved. She said the
account is now running 2-
3 weeks behind the
approval. Hall said that
as of the Dec. 17 meeting,
she has funds to pay
invoices approved at the
Dec. 3 meeting.
After Hall writes the
checks, she gives them to
the mayor to sign.
Sometimes it is another
two weeks before the
checks come back to her
from the mayor. Dodd
asked if any checks were
given priority, and Hall
said she sometimes
emails the mayor if there
is a need to get a certain
check in the mail.
"We receive numerous
phone calls a day from
vendors [seeking pay
ment]," said Hall.
"We are better than we
have been," said Howard.
"We got $166,000 in prop
erty tax this week."
Council unanimously
approved a motion by
Wilson to lift the hiring
freeze to allow the police
department to hire six
officers and the fire
department to hire part-
time fire fighters.
Wilson explained that
the positions are already
in the budget; so the hir
ing will not affect the
budget. He said the hir
ing process will take sev
eral months. Filling the
six police positions will
also allow the police
department to fill a feder
al grant position that it
cannot fill until staffing is
back at the level where it
was when the city made
application for the grant.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Losing our friend Cotton
To the editor:
I am in the process of
losing a family friend,
our Eskimo Spitz,
Cotton. My wife and I
rescued her from a
shelter in Valdosta 10 years
ago after the loss of our first
Eskimo of 16 years. Cot
ton’s former
owner had her
for 4 1/2 years
and then put her
in the shelter be
cause she said
she needed a
bigger yard. It
was over a year
before she really
began to trust
us and feel at
home, but it has
been worth it.
Cotton slept by
our bed at
night. She woke
up with us in
the mornings,. When one of
us would rattle the car
keys, she beat us to the
door with an expression
that said,” Can I go too?”
She and her pal Charlie
were always there to wel
come us home whether it
had been 5 minutes, 5
hours, or 5 days with the
same joyful, enthusiastic
greeting. Anyone who has
not had a “family” dog has
missed out on one of the
best gifts you can be given
in this life, the gift of uncon
ditional love. It matters not
if you are angry, depressed,
sick, or hurt. A dog that is
raised as part of the family
will be there for you and
give you its love no matter
what. Unfortunately this is
more than often can be said
of your family or friends.
There have been times
when we were in a hurry
to get somewhere and we
would call Cotton to come
inside and she would have
red mud all over her face,
neck and chest from trying
to dig out a chipmunk
from its hole. She always
knew what day Sunday
Rescue dog “Cotton’
has been a beloved
member of the Veal
family, but her health
is now failing.
was as we got ready to
leave for church as
opposed to any other time
and never begged to ride
with us. She knew when
the suitcases came out,
that we were going some
where she could not go
and would pout the whole
time we were packing.
She would run to
the fence and
bark at the hors
es in the pasture
and run up and
down the fence
chasing them.
Every morning
she would patrol
the perimeter
of our property
looking for any
creature that
did not belong
there, and
when it was
found, it was
quickly dispatched.
Now she is plagued with
an auto-immune disease
that is sapping the muscle
strength in her hind legs.
She doesn’t run anymore,
and walks with difficulty.
She can’t do steps, and has
to be carried up and down
from the deck to the yard.
Sometimes she has to be
helped to stand, as she
wears out toward the end
of the day. This is little
enough that I can do for
her as she has given me so
much love and pleasure for
the last 10 of her 14 years.
At some point soon the
medicine will no longer
help and it will be time for
us to make the big deci
sion.
Now why, you may ask,
do I burden you with this?
Is this just an outlet for
me right now? Perhaps,
but it is also to use the sit
uation to make two points.
First, Save A Pet is trying
to raise enough money to
build its own shelter. They
have been rescuing dogs in
Monroe County for many
years, and unlike the
county shelter, they are a
“no kill” shelter. Help
them however you feel you
can to get this shelter
built. Second, if you are or
have been thinking about
getting a dog, get a rescue.
There are so many aban
doned and abused dogs out
there that would make
great pets and you would
get more love and appreci
ation from them than you
might imagine. You may
even find that you are the
one being rescued. At some
point soon we will have to
say goodbye to our friend.
After she is gone and I
have had time to grieve
her passing, I will have
another Cotton. She will
be a rescue too. And not
because I am anxious to go
through this hurt again,
but as the Garth Brooks
song goes, “I could have
missed the pain, but then
I would have had to miss
the dance”.
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