WR Council allocates new 2018 SPLOST funds, increases water, sewer, public safety spending

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — After receiving additional funding as a result of “high sales,” Warner Robins Mayor and Council decided Monday night to allocate more that $9 million dollars in new 2018 SPLOST funds. More than $6 million of those funds will be allocated to “Public Safety Facilities and Equipment”, nearly doubling the original budget. An additional $2 million will be reallocated to “Water and Sewer System Improvements.”

The 2018 SPLOST budget initially accounted for $37,370,122 in total revenue, but as Mayor LaRhonda Patrick explained during Monday’s pre-council meeting, high sales have allowed for an amended $54,069,953 in revenue — money that she says will be used to make up for the inflated costs of the city’s ongoing projects.

“There are a lot of line items on our 2018 SPLOST that have not been utilized yet,” Patrick said. “We are expecting a higher return on SPLOST 2018 because our sales were so high in the county.”

Four items will be affected by this change:

– “Road, Street, Bridge and Sidewalks” will grow from a budget of $5,137,263 to a budget of $6,451,570.

– “Public Safety Facilities and Equipment” will be changed from a budget of $7,280,000 to $13,313,968.

– Water and Sewer System Improvements” will see a change in their budget, growing from $3,721,122 to $6,083,334.

– Finally, “General Government Capital Improvements” will expand from a $4,487,000 budget to $4,634,185.

$6,842,159 in additional revenue remains to be put into other capital projects.

Despite these allocations being presented as a positive development, not all were immediately persuaded. Post 5 Council Clifford Holmes had some concerns that these allocations wouldn’t be spent in his district, or that they may even impact it negatively.

“Anytime I see where we’re going to reallocate SPLOST money, the first thing that comes to my mind, is ‘what are we taking from Post 5?’” Holmes said. “Each time, I’ve [had] some money taken from Post 5 to use elsewhere, and I want to be sure that we take care of Post 5 as well as the other posts want their post taken care of.”

In response, Mayor Patrick told Holmes that specific projects would be discussed by council at an upcoming “mini retreat.”

Following their meeting, Mayor Patrick discussed some of the allocations, and what decisions led to them.

“The six areas that received their amendment in the budget, increasing it, those were based on the fact that significant projects, that were on paper to complete, would cost a lot more now than they did back in 2018 when they did the proposed cost.”

The largest change, a $6 million addition to “Public Safety Facilities and Equipment” will be used to provide the Warner Robins Fire Department with new facilities and equipment, while the additional $2 million spent on “Water and Sewer System Improvements” will be used to replace outdated infrastructure, and expand infrastructure with the city’s needs.

The agenda and supporting documents for this meeting can be found at the city’s website, or by going to wrga.gov/agendacenter. Mayor and council’s meeting are typically scheduled on the first and third Monday of each month, exclusive of federally practiced holidays.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 20. Pre-council will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Carolyn Robbins Room at City Hall. The regular council meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers of the same building.

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