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Mayor & Commission
Lay Out Budget Goals,
Objectives for FY12
ACC's fiscal year begins in July; Mayor
Nancy Denson will have to propose her FV12
budget for commissioners to approve well
before that. In preparation, the mayor and
commission last week discussed general goals
for the budget to fulfill. Few were new:
• More street studies, in addition to the Oak/
Oconee and Prince Avenue "corridor studies"
now up for public comment. Commissioners
had earlier asked for a study of Atlanta
Highway, too, but now seem to want to look
at other streets as well: Jefferson Road, North
Avenue and other "gate
way" entries to town
and perhaps Hawthorne
Avenue as well.
Atlanta Highway is
"not making a good
first impression,"
Commissioner Mike
Hamby said. "We've got
to do something to make
that area better so it
continues to attract businesses." A successful
streetscape project contributed to a resur
gence in business along the Baxter Street cor
ridor, which had deteriorated over many years.
Hamby said he hopes such plans won't drag
out too long: "I'd sort of like to see it realized
before I die."
• "I think downtown needs attention,"
Denson said. "Let's just fix the holes in
the sidewalk," Commissioner Andy Herod
suggested—"how about that as a starting
point?" Maintenance budgets for downtown
have been decreased over the years, said ACC
Manager Alan Reddish: "Those are decisions
that were made a few years ago." A master
plan for downtown? "I think we're working
toward something," said Hamby, who sits on
the Athens Downtown Development Authority’s
board.
• Push for "a more effective criminal justice
process," moving cases more quickly so people
aren't kept waiting so long (often in jail) for
trials, suggested Commissioner Harry Sims.
That and other "measurable objectives" need
to be tracked—that was an "adamant" recom
mendation by a criminal justice task force that
studied the system, Sims said. New computer
software to share information across depart
ments will also help; it should be installed
next year.
• Maintain the county's infrastructure.
Commissioners were especially interested
in bus shelters—or the lack of them. "I
see a lot of people waiting, and there's no
cover" from sun or rain,
Commissioner Andy Herod
said. There are plans for
more shelters. Reddish
said, but not at all bus
stops—because shelters
are expensive, and some
stops don't get much
use. But all will at least
get seats eventually, and
concrete pads. At some
stops, the county doesn't own enough land
to install a shelter, and adjacent landowners
won't sell. (The county can fo r ce a landowner
to sell land for a bus stop, but never has.)
• Continue Greenway development, mapping
a new greenway trail along the Middle Oconee
(the river that flows through Ben Burton Park
and the State Botanical Garden, but which has
no adjacent Greenway trail). "We'll be able
to do all the mapping" for the greenway next
year, Reddish told commissioners, with the
actual trail to be built when funds become
available.
• Continue water conservation efforts begun
in 2009 that have lowered peak demand for
“We’ve got to do
something to make that
area better so it continues
to attract businesses,”
said Mike Hamby.
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water (partly by charging "tiered" rates so
customers who use more water must pay extra
for it). If customers continue to use less—
especially in summer when demand is high
est—the county won't have to build expensive
treatment plants to sup
ply it. Peak demand is
down by 17 percent, and
"we have been a model
for the rest of the state"
in encouraging conser
vation, Commissioner
Kathy Hoard said.
• Provide incentives to retain long-term ACC
employees (although there is value, too,
Herod suggested, in bringing in "new blood")
County employees haven't had raises in three
years, and are paying more for insurance;
perhaps instead of across-the-board raises of
one or two percent, raises should be a specific
dollar amount, Denson suggested. A raise of
a couple of hundred dollars wou ! d amount
to more for lower-wage employees. Pensions
could also be increased a bit—the pension
board is "always inter
ested in doing that,"
Reddish said, but "we
have to remind them
that it's not an inexpen
sive thing to do."
Other budget goals
noted by commission
ers included establishing a federally qualified
health center, affordable housing development
and continuing to offer internships for y«ung
people.
John Huie
“We have been a model
for the rest of the state” in
encouraging conservation,
Kathy Hoard said.
Holiday Market Dec. 3rd
Saturday 10am - 6pm
670 West Broad Street
Corner of Pope and Broad * Behind Ben's Bikes
* Handmade Gifts Craft Demos *
Art Cars * Food Carts
www.attiensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com
6 FLAGP0LE.C0M-NOVEMBER 23,2011
