WR Council denies tap fee waiver

During their Tuesday meeting, Warner Robins Mayor and Council voted to deny a request from community partners Houston Healthcare and Central Georgia Technical College, asking the city to waive tap fees for a building well into development, the Lofts at Houston Central.

For any typical structure in Warner Robins, there is an order to procedures. One of the very first things a developer must do before beginning their build is pay a “tap fee,” which then triggers the city to come to the property, put a tap into the water main at the property and put a meter on the tap so that the developer’s water usage can be accounted for.

Once this is done, the developer can be issued a building permit, allowing them to begin construction.

Once construction is complete and all inspections have been passed, the building can be issued a certificate of occupancy (CO) that allows the building to be used by the public. In the case of the Lofts at Houston Central, these procedures were not completed in order.

During their meeting the previous week, Mayor Patrick indicated to The Journal, according to outside sources, these community partners were promised by former Mayor Randy Toms that the city would waive the fees. It is unclear how the builders were issued a building permit without paying their tap fees.

Late in their meeting Tuesday, Councilman Derek Mack presented an item that, if approved, would waive the tap fees for this development, despite city policy.

A moment passed without anyone on the board speaking or making any form of motion. Mayor Patrick asked if there was a motion for the item. Another moment passed.

Finally, Mack motioned that the city deny the agreement, with Councilman Charlie Bibb seconding his motion. Council voted, unanimously denying the item.

Bringing some additional assistance to the city Finance Department, council approved a resolution that will allow Patrick to sign an agreement with JAT Consulting Services, Inc. The group will provide “Financial Management Services,” and will include a senior financial management consultant, a senior accountant and an account specialist. Council approved this item unanimously.

Finally, mayor and council approved a resolution that would allow the city to provide CDL training for city employees, and for the city to be reimbursed in the event that city employees leave before completing a year tenure.

Public Works Director Brian Clifton explained the resolution during the pre-council meeting.

“The police department has a program where, if they send someone to the academy, should that employee or police officer hit the road and should want to go to another police department, they have to pay a certain fee back to the city for the training that the city gave them,” Clifton said. “Basically that’s what this is, we’re training our personnel [for a] commercial driver’s license, and when we invest the time, money, fuel cost, training, everything we’re investing into the employee, when that employee gets their CDL, this basically is the same type of program. Should they leave and go to another company outside the city, they would have to pay a fee when they leave the city.”

The trainee would receive 80 hours of training from the city, costing Warner Robins about $5,000. In the event the employee leaves their employment with the city during their training, they’ll be asked to pay the city $900 in return. Once their training is complete, if the employee terminates their employment before a 12-month period, the city will require them to pay back $1,200.

Employees going through this training would be trained by the city and licensed through the state. This item was approved unanimously.

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 meetings are typically scheduled on the first and third Monday of each month, exclusive of federal holidays.

The next meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 6. 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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