The Front Line at City Hall

(Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of meeting the community’s public service employees who take care of the residents and businesses in Jasper County and the city of Monticello. This week, Kim Joris introduces us to the front office staff at Monticello City Hall.)

At one time or another, most residents of Monticello will have the need to step inside City Hall in downtown Monticello.

Folks who are new to town sign up for their gas, electric, trash, water and sewer utilities at City Hall. Residents can walk in and call and talk to real people, not automated phone messages, to ask questions, apply for business licenses, review city codes and ordinances, reserve city parks for special events and pay bills at the front counter.

Michele Kerbow, Vanessa Johnson, Kinshaza Norris and Kelly Bell make up the front line team who answers the phone calls and meets and greets the walk in customers.

First up is Michele Kerbow. She is who you will most likely encounter first as you enter City Hall. Stationed behind the front window, she started work with the city last October as a customer service representative.

A Monticello resident for over 20 years, Michele has two daughters, ages 27 and 29. Immediately prior to taking her job with the city, she was taking care of her five grandchildren, ages three to seven. Originally from Gwinnett County, Michele has been a certified paralegal and she is a former Delta flight attendant, a job she loved, especially the travel perks that went with it.

“Every day is di?erent here, even if the tasks are the same,” Michele said of her work at the city. Her responsibilities include accepting customer payments and setting up utilities for new residents, answering the phone, and providing data input for city contracts. She described most folks who walk through the door as friendly, sharing that she likes meeting the new people that come through the o?ce each day.

She still likes to travel when she can, calling Maine as one of her favorite places to visit. She loves music, especially country and the sounds from the 1980’s, and she declared, “I am a shopper.” Most of all, she loves hanging out and playing with her grandchildren.

Vanessa Johnson, hired this past March as the Human Services Manager (HSM), is next up. She joined the city of Monticello from the state of Georgia, having worked as a customer service representative for the Department of Labor and Department of Family and Children Services. A 2008 graduate of Jasper County High School (JCHS) and a resident of Monticello, she was happy to return home to work, declaring “it’s good to work where you’re from.”

In her role as HSM, Vanessa is responsible for payroll, new hires, business licenses and time clocks, ensuring city employees get their paychecks. Her desk is also the first stop for building permits within the city limits of Monticello.

Married for seven years next month to Carlton Johnson, Vanessa is a mother of four to Katron age 22, Cameron age 13, Elijah, age 12 and Carter, age 5, proclaiming she is a lucky mom to have bonus children. She is also the proud grandmother to a two-year-old grandson. Between baseball, basketball and football with her boys, including travel sports, and spending time with her grandson when she can, Vanessa is happily busy with family during her o? time, telling me, “my kids are my world.”

Crafting, especially making T-shirts with her Cricut maker is where Vanessa can be found if she’s not with her family. And, like her co-worker Michele, Vanessa loves to travel. A perfect vacation is with her boys on the beach in Kissimmee, Fla., adding, “I love any place that’s warm.” As a surprise, she often takes her children on trips for their birthdays.

Kinshaza (Kay) Norris is next. Kay has worked with the city of Monticello for the past year and a half. A Monticello native and JCHS 2019 graduate, Kay started her work at the city as a customer service representative. Now a billing clerk, she inputs data, writes up work orders and mails out all of the city’s bills, a job she describes as fun but also stressful, especially the utility billing piece of her job.

With over 1,500 customers, the major priority for her job is to check for the accuracy of the bills prior to their being mailed. She is also responsible for the monthly gas billing to Jones County who purchases gas from the city of Monticello. Playfully eavesdropping while I talked to Kay and interjecting stories on one another, co-worker Kelly with unanimous support from the others, declared, “Kay does whatever is put on her and she gets it done.”

Describing herself as quiet, but outspoken when needed, Kay stated, “I like the opportunity getting to know people where I grew up,” something she shares with her grandparents Bobby and Brenda Norris whom she lives with and both of whom were also city employees. Eyes sparkling and a big smile across her face, she declared her mom describes her as her mini-me, and she shared she hopes to be like her grandfather and her Uncle Danny Norris, who has also worked for the city of Monticello.

When not at work, Kay likes to draw. Shyly, she admitted that a few of her drawings have even made it into her tattoos. Spending time with her family and her three dogs also keeps her happy and busy when she’s away from the o?ce.

Tucked out of sight in the corner near the front counter, the self proclaimed ‘old timer’ of the group, sits Senior Accounting Technician Kelly Bell who makes up the last of the team of four. She has been working at City Hall for the last 13 years. Originally from the greater Atlanta area, Kelly announced, “I don’t do tra?c anymore.” She loves the small town atmosphere of Monticello, especially the low crime rate and the lack of tra?c.

Kelly has two adult children, 23 year old Jacob and 20 year old Rebekah. Jacob, once a particle physicist student at Georgia Tech is currently a mechanic who restores cars, a job he loves and took to naturally. Daughter Rebekah, a student at University of North Georgia (UNG), works part time at a retail shop in downtown Monticello and has started her own arts and crafts business.

Like many of her co-workers, Kelly’s first job was at the counter as a customer service representative. Prior to working in Monticello, one of her first jobs was as an accountant. She also helped with the accounting at her cousin’s HVAC and building company and she did the billings for Turtle Cove, work that provided a foundation for her current job as the senior accounting technician.

Working out at the gym with family, shopping, dining locally and spending time with her co-workers out of the o?ce take up most of Kelly’s time when she’s away from work. Telling me that she and her co-workers often shop and eat dinner out together outside of the o?ce and confirmed by her co-workers, she shared, “We talk to each other on the phone every day after work.”

The fab four can be reached at City Hall, located at 123 W. Washington St on the square in downtown Monticello. City Hall is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached via phone at 706-468-8834.