WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — As we continue through January, we continue to bring perspectives from city leaders on notable projects aimed at improving the community, and the city of Warner Robins has started the process on several of them in Houston County.
As Mayor LaRhonda Patrick explained, 2023 was a productive year for the city, with several projects in development.
Helping homelessness:
Haven Hope House hopes to open in the spring, and Patrick said this will be the first of its kind in the city.
The building, a city-owned homeless shelter located on Green Street, was purchased last year, and the city celebrated with the community in June. As part of an ongoing homelessness initiative, the city has been working to restore the building and make it safe for future residents.
Meanwhile, on nights when temperatures dip below freezing, the city has partnered with No Limit Baptist Church to provide emergency shelter to unhoused people.
Historic employee raises:
On July 31, 2023, Warner Robins Council announced a substantial raise for city employees.
At the council meeting, Patrick said salaried employees in grades 7-10 would receive a 35% pay increase; 11–20 would get 34%; 21 and 22 would have 21%; 23 would take 15%; 24 had 9%; 25 and 26, the highest paid, took home 5% more.
Starting pay for the fire and police departments jumped to $45,000 and $52,500, respectively, while the minimum wage for hourly employees jumped to $15.50 per hour.
During the meeting, Patrick added the raises were due to conservative spending and good stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars, meaning the city did not need to raise taxes to fund the salaries.
City employees were excited to hear the news at the meeting, and the city hoped it would draw more talent to open positions and boost retention.
Developing downtown:
The city held several events in 2023 to celebrate future property development on Commercial Circle into a downtown area, including a press conference in August and a dilapidated building demolition in December.
In December, the city announced they own 60% of the property along Commercial Circle and are working to transition existing property owners into their plans seamlessly. The city said they plan to begin further demolition this year and groundbreaking in 2025, with a bike and pedestrian-friendly vision of residential, retail, commercial, and office spaces.
Regarding city projects, Mayor Patrick called 2024 the “year of execution,” citing continued work in downtown development, the homelessness initiative, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Robins International Industrial Park. With upcoming projects this year, Patrick hopes the city will strive for downtown and economic development, provide resources to those unhoused, and continue bringing events that unite the community.
“[My] first year was more observation, doing assessments. The second year was a lot of planning. This year, the third year is execution. A lot of balls have started rolling from year two and year three is when I’m trying to button up a lot of things that we’ve already put in motion,” Patrick explained.
Patrick mentioned she, the council, and department heads found a groove working together last year and explained her method of leadership to the governing body. With the same council moving into 2024, Patrick also said they plan to continue in the same fashion.
“I am not one that pulls for votes from my council. Council makes their own decision, and I don’t sway them; I give them information. I’m very transparent when it comes to that, and I let them do the rest,” Patrick said. “You’ll see in our council meetings where many times they are voting unanimously on their decisions, and I don’t have to vote at all. We are really in agreement with working with each other. We really do act like a true team. So, that is one of the things I’m extremely proud of with this administration.”
As the year progresses, Patrick said she is hopeful the city’s efforts will elevate their population via residential development, have significant investment in downtown development, and continue to grow and reach its full potential while maintaining a friendly small-town feel.
“We’re the 11th largest but we have a small city heart. I want to see that heart grow. I want to see more opportunities where we’re coming together like small communities do in our large size. That’s what I want to see,” Patrick said.
Watch for more city perspectives in a future edition of The Houston Home Journal.
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