City Utility Customers Complain about Bills

During the citizens input portion of the Monticello City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday, Dale Roberts reported that her electric bill was double what it was last month and covered a 38 day period. She told the Council they needed to get someone to read the meters on time, and that they couldn’t play with people’s money like that. She added that something was not right and someone needed to get a handle on it.

Margaret Davis reported that her bill was $334, double what it was last month, and covered a 39 day period. She told the Council they should take those days off her next bill and should give her 39 days instead of 30 to pay it. She added that people were angry because this was not fair, and that the Council should work with them.

Juanita Davis said she keeps her thermostat set on 80 to 85 degrees and her bill still went from $167 to $357. She added that if this continues you won’t be collecting any money because people can’t pay it, and that she thought the city office should have someone available to talk to people about their bills.
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Besides the size of his bill, Rev. William Gibson reported he had seen city employees cutting people’s power off while they laughed about it.

Mayor Glenn Newsome said the reason for the bills being in excess of 30 days was because people had to be laid off due to the budget and it took longer to read the meters. He went on to say the city is working on installing electronic meter reading which would eliminate this. The mayor also invited the citizens to come into the city office to work something out on the bills and possibly giving extra time to pay the bills.

Councilman Bryan Standifer said if any city employees were being disrespectful their conduct should be reported and the Council would deal with that because that kind of conduct would not be tolerated.

City Manager Bob Schwartz, in his regular report said other than the extra days, the electric bills were higher because of the heat and humidity, and the power cost of production went up. He also reported in the financial report that as of July the City had $74,000 in the bank, but were holding checks for $138,000. He said he realized this was a bleak picture, but that we’re getting there, and things will get better.

He also added we are entering a 10-week period of the storm warning sirens being built and that Lowrey Branch Dam has been repaired.

Monticello Police Chief Bud Smith reported that for the month of July his department responded to 424 calls for service, wrote 121 citations and collected $6,704.

Mayor Newsome took the occasion to congratulate the chief for securing a COPS grant for $121,000 to fund an additional officer for three years, and also for his being awarded a scholarship to attend the International Police Chief Association’s conference in Denver.

On the Consent Agenda (items which the city manager and mayor consider everyone on the Council is in agreement on) the Council approved the payables and the Water/Sewer Drawdown for Rehab Construction for $65,270, Carter and Sloope for $918, Jordan Engineering for $1,250 and Harold W. Parker & Sons Roofing Contractors for $1,265.

Under old business the Council discussed the appeal of Ken Smith on a ruling by the Historic Preservation Commission’s (HPC) against a structure at his car wash, which was put in place without authority or permit. The city manager advised the Council they needed to make a motion to pass that either approves, modifies or rejects the determination of the commission.

Councilman Standifer asked Ken Kocher of the HPC if they had any modifications policies concerning this. Mr. Coffer replied a building of traditional materials could be considered, but there were other property restrictions and that it would be a year after the Council’s decision before he could apply.

Councilwoman Mollie Pompey said the business employees people and the property is cleaner than it’s ever been before. She added that this is called progress and what difference would it make years from now.

Councilman Bobby Jacobs stated that we have rules and regulations we adopted and we have to abide by them or change the rules. Also, at this point in the discussion he made a motion to approve the HPC decision and it was seconded by Councilwoman Katherine Alexander.

Councilman Standifer said he wanted to ask the council to meet with the business owner one more time to see if we can reach a medium, something similar, but not that type.
Mayor Newsome said a motion was on the table and called for a vote, at which time Councilman Jacobs and Councilwoman Alexander voted to uphold the HPC decision while Councilwoman Pompey and Councilman Standifer voted against. The Mayor Pro Tem Russell Gross was not in attendance and a tie vote requires the mayor’s vote break to break the tie. Mayor Newsome also voted to uphold the HPC ruling the metal carport had to be removed.

Mayor Newsome then called for nominations to fill the three vacancies remaining on the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Councilwoman Alexander nominated David Leach and said he was willing to serve. Mr. Leach was unanimously approved.

The mayor also asked for nominations to fill three vacancies on the HPC. Councilman Standifer nominated Juanita Davis and Councilman Jacobs nominated Gordon Plummer, both of whom were unanimously approved.

Also on the new business agenda was a request by the city manager to the Council to allow Chief Smith to drive his city assigned vehicle to his home on the Butts County side of Jackson Lake, 16 miles from town, where he lives during the week, but not on weekends when he stays at his home in Hampton, allowing him to have contact by police radio as soon as he enters his car and be available for duty from that moment.

Councilwoman Pompey said the chief lives in Hampton and is not being honest.

Councilman Standifer said he had no problem with this, except the expected negative feedback he would expect from his community.

Councilwoman Alexander said his duty is not just from nine to five. What if we need him.

Councilman Jacobs said he should be allowed to drive to his residence on Jackson Lake during the week and that it was time for a change, whereupon he made a motion to approve the request and was seconded by Councilwoman Alexander. Once again a tie vote was reached with Councilman Jacobs and Councilwoman Alexander voting to approve the request while Councilman Standifer and Councilwoman Pompey voted against. Also, once again the mayor used his tiebreaker vote to approve the request.

Councilman Jacobs presented an opportunity for the city to apply for a designation as a Tree City, which would be an opportunity for the city to apply for grants and participate in Arbor Day. He stated there would be small matches, but that they could be fulfilled with services rather than cash.

Councilman Standifer said he would be in favor of this as long as there were no fees for applying.

Councilman Jacobs made a motion to approve, seconded by Councilwoman Alexander, after which it was approved by a vote of three for and one abstention.

Mayor Newsome presented a proposal from Advanced Disposal for a change in recycling where the central collection point would still be used and the city would be able to deposit much more and put everything in one trailer. The proposal was unanimously approved.

Also unanimously approved was a recommendation from Shelby Bowles, CPA. for several areas to approve write offs and the areas to make vigorous effort for collection of bad debts.

With no other business on the agenda the mayor called for council comments.

Councilman Jacobs said he wanted to congratulate Chief Smith and his department for doing a great job. He also said the same about City Clerk Gail and City Manager Bob Schwartz. He added he would like to see more attention to the appearance of the Square, thanked the citizens for coming out and that he looked forward to the implementation of electronic meter reading which would be more accurate and timely.

Councilman Standifer said he wanted to thank the residents who voiced their opinion on the utility bills and that the council members were going through the same thing, and he would like to propose that the bills be prorated next month for the ones which covers over 30 days. He also said he appreciated the heck of a good job Chief Smith is doing and that his vote on the car was no reflection on this.

Councilwoman Alexander said she wanted to congratulate the Dixie Darlings, that she was at the World Series and they played hard, that they are our champs and we need to recognize them. She added she was also looking forward to the implementation of the electronic meter reading system.
Councilwoman Pompey had no comment.

Mayor Newsome thanked Mr. Schwartz for his hard work and the many hours he puts in. He added that he has gained the respect of the Council as well as the community. He said he wanted to thank the Council for making the difficult decisions on the budget, and that he thanked the citizens for their input and invited them back.

The meeting was adjourned and went into closed session during which the city manager reported the Council voted to adopt the recommendations of their insurance company’s attorney with regard to a potential settlement of which the details could not be revealed until the matter is settled.