Despite a difficult budget year and some recent city layoffs, Winder’s mayor and city administrator said this week that neither they nor the city council would be part of any public hearing process regarding the town’s impending $43 million FY2010 budget.
That position raised questions from one citizen at Tuesday night’s council meeting and appears to violate Georgia law regarding the city budget process.
City administrator Bob Beck said residents have “ample opportunity” to air their concerns at the hearings.
“If you are looking for an opportunity to sit there and do a conversation or have input back and forth between citizens and the council and the mayor, that does not happen,” Beck told a citizens who questioned the city's budget process.
The city’s proposed budget was distributed for the first time to the council Monday night. The city held a meeting May 26 at which a city employee met with two citizens, but that meeting did not have the mandatory seven-day public notice, and the mayor and council did not attend as required by state law for the meeting to be a legitimate hearing. In addition, the “budget” presented at that hearing was incomplete, consisting of a one-page data spreadsheet.
WINDER CITY COUNCIL
also county commisioners D.Y. needs a lesson in manners and business.
Follow Gwinnetts lead, Read this excerpt from Kyle Wingfield column in todays AJC.
"And it can’t go without saying that Republicans — like all five Gwinnett commissioners — do their party and conservatism a disservice when they resort to tax hikes. Voters elect Republicans with the expectation that they will promote limited government, even when it’s not easy. The GOP has paid a dear price nationally for ignoring this simple truth. It can also happen at the state and local levels"
Here is the link
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/06/04/wingfielded_0604.html
Maybe us Barrow county citizens could petition Gwinnett county to annex us in. We could be known as New Dacula.
Just a thought..
WP
Bob Beck must have mixed up the Winder City Council with the DOT.
I was not there, but it appears to me that Bob Beck was simply stating the facts. It would be inefficient for him or the mayor to sit down one-on-one with every person who had a concern regarding the city's matters. Doing so, would require way too much of their time. Instead, citizens are expected to voice their concerns through the forums that are provided to them to by the city. I think this is what Beck meant. Whether or not these public forums are sufficiently provided can be debatable. Recently, maybe they have not provided ample public forums for the budget.
Bob Beck is the best at what he does and has the utmost greatest character and degree of responsibility that is required to run this city.
his best friend? Give us a break! This city
administrator and all others like him think
they are above all of us citizens.
Before any of you rush to making judgments, be sure to get all of the facts. You cannot get them all by reading this article.
Furthermore, please go meet both the Major and Mr. Beck. They are both great guys who care about the job they are doing and the people they are serving.
Mike Buffington
Co-Publisher
It hasn’t??? Let’s examine this.
Georgia law does, indeed, set forth requirements that cities are to follow in connection with the budget process.
The budget must be submitted to the governing authority as required by the City Charter. In Winder’s case, that means the budget must be submitted to the Mayor and Council not later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the City’s fiscal year. Since the City’s fiscal year begins July 1, and the proposed budget was, indeed, submitted to the Governing Authority not later than 30 days prior to the new fiscal year, this law was followed. No doubt Ms. Pierce would find fault with this and argue that the Mayor himself did not submit the budget, but, in this case, the Mayor’s designee, Leslie Ginn, submitted the budget at the Mayor’s direction. So no fault there.
Additionally, the City must conduct a “public hearing” at which members of the public may be heard on the subject of the City’s proposed budget. This public hearing must be properly noticed and must be held no later than seven days prior to the final vote on the budget.
My understanding is that the Mayor and Council will vote on the budget at the scheduled Council meeting on June 29. Assuming this date is correct, the City must hold a public hearing no later than June 22, which public hearing must be properly noticed at least seven days prior to the public hearing.
Until that date (which is at least seven days prior to the hearing, which is at least seven days prior to the final vote) has passed, how can a good journalist with clear conscience claim that the City has “not followed” the process?? The process is not over yet. To jump to a conclusion otherwise is not responsible journalism.
Mike Buffington
Mike
1. The May 26 hearing had been done without proper legal notitication;
2. The procedures stated in the city's own budget schedule did not conform to state law;
3. City officials stated in a public meeting they didn't intend to meet with citizens about the budget?
If it walks and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck.
The city has apparently corrected its schedule to conform with the law (following last week's publication.) Good. Now maybe the real discussion about the budget's substance can begin.
Thanks for commenting.
Mike
Secondly, the Mayor and Council were given copies of the proposed budget on June 1. The budget was not opened, read, or discussed by the above. I know; I was there.
Thirdly, because of my questions and the excellent reporting by the Barrow Journal, the Mayor and Council realized they were not in compliance with the state laws and regulations.
On Friday, June 5, Sabrina Wall, the City Clerk, called to answer a question I had asked. She also told me that the City Council would be at the June 18 meeting, and the voting for the proposed budget would now take place on June 29. Responsible reporting can get more done than contacting the Attorney General's office and our state representatiive, Terry England. THANK YOU BARROW JOURNAL!!!
Stop hiding behind annonymous and having someone from City Hall put the words in your mouth. Stand up and be a responsible citizen.
The budget was submitted to the Mayor and Council on June 1. That date is no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, so the law was complied with there. There is nothing in the law that says that the budget had to be "opened, read, or discussed" when it was presented on June 1. So I do not follow your point in that regard. So it wasn't opened, read, or discussed on June 1. So what? It didn't have to be.
The Mayor and City Council have not been in compliance with state laws and regulations. Why do you think they have now changed dates and procedures? They know they were not in compliance, and they know we know they were not in compliance. Please go to the Budget Process included in the FY2010 Proposed Budget, and you can see how they did not follow what they said they would do. Thank you Barrow Journal for making sure these procedures would be followed, even though they are not being followed as stated in writing by them.
Mike
and list the names of the City Officials who will be attending the hearing(s)It is not shameful to make a mistake, but to try to cover the mistake up is shameful.
My opinion of this article is that the Barrow Journal unfairly attempted to misconstrue single statements made by respected leaders all in the spite of trying to come up with a story for your paper. While I applaud the Barrow Journal for outstanding coverage in the past, this article remains inaccurate.
The story was not just based on the one comment you allude to, but also to other comments by several city officials who were not quoted directly and spoke to us on background.
There is more to come on this city budget story, so stay tuned. After you have read the entire coverage, I think you'll find that the Winder budget is a big issue and deserves intensive reporting. Ultimately, that will prove the legitimacy of our coverage.
Thanks for your comments.
Mike