Warner Robins discusses employee raises, utility distribution for annexation

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Monday night, Warner Robins Council had their regularly scheduled city council meeting. A single piece of property opened discussion into how utilities are handled during annexation, and the city presented the first reading of their budget for fiscal year 2024.

In a new format for Mayor and Council, the June 5 council meeting immediately followed their pre-council meeting, but there was certainly no shortage of topics to discuss during pre-council.

The first started with an annexation request for almost .7 acres of land along Timberlane Avenue.

The annexation turned into a debate during the pre-council meeting, with Councilman Charlie Bibb presenting the annexation before Mayor and Council for discussion.

As Bibb explained, the homeowners along the property have taken the necessary steps to prepare for joining the city as residents, including connecting their septic tank to the city’s sewer system.

Darin Curtis, a zoning manager, spoke on behalf of the Community and Economic Development department, saying they recommend council approve the annexation, since the property is contiguous to city limits and able to receive city resources.

Montie Walters, Director of the Utility Department, said the city would need to ensure water is billed properly, opening a discussion between mayor and council about various properties that use county utilities, yet are within Warner Robins city limits.

As City Attorney Julia Mize explained, a property annexed by the city should receive all city services, including fire and police coverage, as well as water sewer and trash pick up, even if county infrastructure is already in place. In the case of annexation, a city water meter would need to be installed on the property. The city would be billed by the county for water in bulk, and bill the property owner individually for the same resource, a scenario seen across multiple city properties, according to Mayor LaRhonda Patrick.

Patrick agreed with Mize, saying that annexed properties should receive all city services, and that the city should be consistent in its process.

“We just have to figure out what our answer is going to be. How are we going to address this,” Patrick said. “Every time it’s not going to be a clean example, a perfect scenario, which this house is not a perfect scenario; but we still want to make sure we are doing the right thing and setting the proper precedent.”

After discussing properties that fall within city limits that are not under the precedent, such as the Kroger on Highway 96, the council circled back to the annexation, with Bibb suggesting the city not include water for now.

Ultimately, Council approved the annexation during their council meeting, with the stipulation that a request for the installation of city water is made later.

Another topic brought up was a sewer backup policy, also approved during the meeting. Councilman Kevin Lashley presented the policy for discussion, saying he sees both sides of the argument, from a government and restoration industry perspective. He thanked council for making the policy clear.

According to city documents, if a sewer is backed up, or if stormwater run-off occurs, the city is generally not liable and property owners should first contact a private plumbing company. If the problem is found to be in city property, then the company or property owner should then contact the city’s utilities department, which will investigate the source of the damage. If the main line is blocked, the city will take care of cleanup. If the customer’s connection is found to be the cause, the customer is responsible.

At the meeting, Mayor Patrick also outlined a “historic” method of determining upcoming salaries for city employees.

The city’s budget total is just over $165 million, including over $158.7 million in budgeted expenses, and nearly $6.3 million in transfers to the general fund from special revenue funds, the natural gas enterprise fund, and the water and sewer enterprise fund.

However, city employee salaries are not established by the budget, according to city documents. Increases are subject to a system explained during the pre-council meeting.

The system, as explained by Mayor Patrick, will determine new salaries for each position, cross referenced to current salaries and available funds.

According to Patrick, council approved a flat 10% raise last year, but this year, will see more variety in increases. It’s a bigger undertaking, according to the mayor, but one she is proud to take on to help provide for employees.

“This year we are going to do something also historic. Some individuals will get a 2% increase, because they are already pretty high on the scale. Other might get a 15% increase because they’re well below what we should be paying them in our market,” Patrick said.

She continued, “It’s a lot of work to do it, but we’re doing the work so we can have the proper numbers.”

Finally, she closed by saying nobody will see a decrease, and many employees will see a significant increase.

Mayor Patrick also announced during the pre-council meeting steps taken by the city to be more amenable to food trucks, announcing a revised ordinance set for next council meeting, and a food truck sampler event before the meeting at 4 p.m.

Up next, a public hearing relating to the city’s upcoming budget is set for 11:30 a.m. on June 14 at Warner Robins City Hall, located at 700 Watson Boulevard. A full breakdown of the budget, as well as supporting documents from the June 5 meeting can be found online, at https://www.wrga.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06052023-573

The next council meeting will be June 20, also at city hall. The pre-council meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Carolyn Robbins Conference Room, with council meeting to follow immediately.

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