Georgia Municipal Association held a forum by way of a conference call on July 27 wherein four mayors within the state discussed the economic effects that COVID-19 has been having on their respective cities. Opinions from each mayor were given on what actions he or she thought the federal government should take to ensure that Georgia, as a whole, remained essential to the recovery of the national economy.
Bringing the issues within the central Georgia community, Houston Home Journal spoke candidly with local heads of cities, including Centerville Mayor John Harley, to get thoughts on some of the key concerns that were thrashed out on Monday’s call and how those same issues were being handled right here at home. With a documented population of only 4,278 during the 2010 census, but rising to an estimated population of 7,884 in 2019, it has been slated as one of the fastest growing cities in the state.
“Centerville’s top challenge during this COVID-19 has been the shortfall in expected revenues,” Harley identified. “That’s been the case specifically in the areas of municipal courts and utilities accounts. The revenues are down due to less severe citations being dismissed and the cancellation of court.” Harley further explained that, “The fiscal year 2020 budget shortfall in the general fund is estimated to be $155,000. There’s also been loss revenue in the enterprise funds due to waiving of late fees and not cutting off services for utility customers for the months of April through June.”
Mayor Harley clarified that the enterprise funds were comprised of resources collected for water and sewer expenses. “The estimated loss of revenue for the waiving of these late fees and reconnection fees is over $30,000,” he revealed.
In spite of the unexpected and ongoing pandemic and its sizable financial impact, the mayor expressed his delight in how Centerville’s team has been able to handle it all. “We were able to provide a full salary to all employees during the shelter-in-place [ordinance], and we did not have a single furlough or layoff. Because of this, we were able to maintain 100% of the expected services to our residents.”
No one denies that COVID-19 has done its share of damage. It has had an unquestionable impact on local infrastructure and capital expenditure projects. However, Mayor Harley indicated that the city of Centerville has met the challenges through careful planning that has kept the citizens and the city in mind.
“COVID-19 hit our area in the middle of our fiscal year 2021 budget process,” he said. “Because of this, we put a pause on all future capital expenditures like vehicles, additional staff, etc. There were a number of vehicle purchases and staff additions that we were planning, but that had to be cut out.”
Sharing in further detail, Mayor Harley said, “Council took a conservative approach while preparing the fiscal year 2021 budget so as to ensure that we were able to maintain the full work force needed for the city of Centerville.” He said that the hope is that taking that conservative approach will result in seeing a lesser revenue shortfall than what they prepared for in the end, which will allow the city to be able to add some elements back into next year’s budget. “We hope to be able to do that this fall—to look at what’s going on and hope to get some of it back.”
As the mayor of Centerville, Harley said he had the opportunity to speak directly to Senator David Purdue about the original CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act legislation in conjunction with other mayors around the state, including Perry Mayor Randall Walker. In revealing some of what was discussed, Mayor Harley said, “It was important that cities were included in this relief package as we’re being affected by COVID-19. We wanted to communicate our revenue shortfalls that I previously mentioned and advocate for trying to continue to provide essential services for our citizens.”
As for the city of Centerville, if funding is indeed received for COVID-19, Mayor Harley has definite plans for how it would be allocated. “It would be used to cover costs to maintain city services to the citizens. We’d do that by providing staff with the resources necessary for operation such as staff training, PPE equipment, etc.,” he detailed. “Essentially, we would dedicate it to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. In other words, everything would go back toward helping us support the needs of the city by [better equipping] our staff to meet those needs.”
Mayor Harley stated that he has been in awe of the city of Centerville and how well they have seemed to handle the challenges of the pandemic to date. “Overall, we’ve come through very well,” he stated. “This has impacted a lot of our citizens a great deal, but I’m very impressed with both the citizens and the city.”
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