City O.K.s New Firm To Assist with Audit

The Monticello City Council voted unanimously to bring in an outside firm to assist in their audits. The council elected to move forward with CKH Consulting LLC, a firm from Atlanta to assist the city in order to be in compliance.

The proposal stated that the firm would begin in assisting with the FY2023 audit and would then work backwards. The last audit that was completed for the city was in FY2019. No further update was provided about any of the other outstanding audits during that time period.

Mayor DeAshley Thurman acknowledged the costly rates the firm is proposing, but said that there was not much of a choice. She stated “We know we’re behind in our audits, but we need to be in compliance.” Mayor Thurman also brought up prior firms turning down the city in their request for assistance, and that CKH would be the best possible solution. She later emphasized that this was no longer a matter of choice and that this had to be done.

Mayor Thurman suggested a cap be set in order to evaluate performance after four weeks. City attorney Joe Reitman later stated this would be a good idea and would be the most sensible action. Following the recommendation of Mr. Reitman, the council voted 5-0 to approve the audit assistance with a cap set at four weeks.

Earlier in the meeting, a complex discussion occurred in regards to the Steel Co change order. Robbie Colvin from the gas department, stated that work was done that was not requested. Mr. Colvin claimed that work was done without the city’s approval and that both sides did not agree to work being done.

An invoice sent by Steel Co. showed two different amounts in expected payment with figures of $720,640 on one page and $644,384 on the other. The confusion sparked a discussion on what would the best way to handle the situation. City Manager LaThaydra Sands stated the company is requesting money in the form of a payment schedule soon.

Mr. Reitman made a suggestion in the form of a contingent approval. This meant that a payment schedule would be approved if Mayor Thurman, Mrs. Sands, City Clerk Carnethia Pennamon, Mr. Colvin and Mr. Reitman could come to a mutual agreement on funds. The motion was made by Council member Jenny Murphy and was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Doug Currie and was passed unanimously.

A personnel move was made following an executive session. The council voted unanimously to appoint Isaac Nesler as head of the street department effective immediately. This change comes after a multitude of complaints from various concerned citizens over the performance of the street department. Additionally, the promotion comes after Mr. Nesler was recognized for his outstanding work on both the tennis courts on Funderburg and the back parking lot behind the city building.

Other action items were also presented in the meeting.

A planning and zoning application was approved for Ian Paulka, allowing him to legally breed geckos. Mr. Paulka made it clear to The News that his intentions would be for breeding and not for selling. A park reservation request for Sands Drive Park was approved for the annual Monticello Day on September 3. An IGA between the city and the county was approved for improvements for Sands Drive Park.

Family Dollar will now be selling alcoholic beverages after a license was approved. A member from corporate spoke at the meeting going over some of the policies in place to stop underage patrons from purchasing alcohol. An introduction to the controversial vaping and hookah sales moratorium was presented. Mr. Reitman went over the moratorium, stating the purpose of the moratorium is to “clearly and fairly regulate a business that unfortunately has an influence on minors.”

DDA (Downtown Development Authority) was allowed to keep its office space upstairs in the city building for the time being while the city looks to rent the office space out. This move came after director Jackie Garland was released. Webb Street paving is back up for bid, after poor performance from the previous contractor. Lastly, City Manager Sands requested additional training sessions throughout 2023-24. This was approved unanimously.

Citizen comments were moved to the end of the meeting as opposed to the beginning. Tammy Parks spoke about the importance of the upcoming election. Mrs. Parks wants the performance of the overall city to improve and that if it isn’t, that the ones underperforming will be voted out. Seats will be up for Council Members Jenny Murphy, Cynthia Miller, and Mayor Pro Tem Doug Currie. She also brought up her opinions of DDA and code enforcement, stating that both entities should not have been cut.

Contrastingly, Stephanie Puckett stated that DDA hasn’t done anything to help the businesses on the square, stating that rent should be charged for DDA. Mrs. Puckett states that DDA is a lost cause until they make drastic changes in personnel and performance.

She also brought up several areas of the city being grown up, making some areas unsafe. She wants the council to hold the street department accountable for this.

Terry Sanders brought up the poor performance of the paving on Webb St., and stated that there should be a standard for how roads should be paved safely. Mr. Poulka then spoke again about the performance council, calling for unity in decision making.

Mrs. Sands then provided a City Manager update. She stated that many of the front office staff, including the city clerk will be attending customer service training. Security has been heightened to the city building with the locks being changed and correct personnel being given keys. Cleaning staff requested and was denied a third key to the building. Lastly, Mrs. Sands gave an update on the tennis courts, lauding the job of Mr. Nesler.

The next regularly scheduled meeting for the city is Tuesday, Sept. 12.