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City gives thumbs-up to fiscal year 2024 budget
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The City of Hinesville has adopted its budget for fiscal year 2024 with a cut in the millage rate — though it still will have to conduct three hearings on a property tax increase.

Though the millage rate is being trimmed, it is not being cut enough for the rollback rate, which is the rate that would keep the property tax the same as last year.

City council members unanimously approved the budget, a $26.65 million general fund plan that includes a 3.4% cost-of- living adjustment for city workers. Council members also approved a millage rate of 10.15, the sixth reduction in the last nine years, city chief financial officer Kim Ryon pointed out.

Council members had three half-hour workshops on the budget before it was presented for their adoption.

The city also received the digest after adopting its budget and millage last year and wound up taking in more property tax revenues than anticipated, Ryon said.

The budget also calls for $500,000 to be set aside for the operating reserve.

Also approved were the city’s special and enterprise fund budgets, including $1 million for special purpose local option sales taxes, nearly $370,000 in hotel-motel revenues, $509,000 in local maintenance improvement grants, $13 million for the water-sewer fund, $3.8 million in solid waste, $2.1 million for Liberty Transit and $1.7 million for stormwater funds. All told, the city’s complete budget is nearly $50.7 million.

The water-sewer fund also is balanced, with no rate increases expected, Ryon said.

The general fund also changes the city’s retirement to an employee’s service length of 20 years at 50 years old.

The city is adding a part-time administrative assistant in public relations, to start in 2024, and a new deputy city court clerk position will open in January. The fire department is adding two fire fighter positions, beginning in May, and four vacant spots in the police department are being turned into public safety support specialist jobs.

The city also will be looking for a mobility manager for Liberty Transit. This position, assistant city manager Ryan Arnold said, will work with stakeholders and assist in making the system more efficient and more user- friendly. Previously, the mobility manager could get pressed into duty behind the wheel of a bus but Arnold said under the new set up, that won’t take place.

“It was strongly suggested of us during our audit review that we have a full-time person with the city oversee the operation and functions,” Arnold said. “It is an area that needs more attention than we can provide on a daily basis.”

First Transit had been operating Liberty Transit since November 2020, taking over from Transdev, under a three-year contract. After First Transit requested in 2022 that the minimum starting wage be increased to $18 an hour, the state Department of Transportation called for a re-bid of the contract.

Requests for proposals were sent out in June 2023, and four were returned. After review, three were deemed good enough to advance to the next round of review.

After committee scoring and interviews, the highest score went to RTW Management, Inc., based in Salt Lake City. RTW specializes in smallcity systems, Arnold said.

Council members agreed to give a notice of intent of award to RTW Management and to allow staff to enter into contract negotiations. The Transit Grant Fund has nearly $1.03 million for a third party to operate the system, and grant funds offset about 60% of the cost.

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