The Long County City Hall members held their monthly meeting this past Tuesday to discuss the latest business concerning the city of Ludowici.

The general fund bank balance currently stands at $193,000. The water/sewer bank balance is at $92,000. General fund savings are at $281,000 and SPLOST (Special-puropse local-option sales tax) stands at $80,000.

The members carried a motion to once again reappoint Ray Howard to be their representative to the Coastal Regional Commission.

Next up was the American Recovery Act which entitles Long County to apply for funds from the government. Mayor Jim Fuller has hopes the city can client its current water customers to get everyone on the same page.

"One of the things we can use this money for is to pay debts that we have previously incurred," said Mayor Fuller.

The average water bill in Long County is about $60-65 a month and delinquencies are high. Other members of the Council agreed to push through to get the funds such as member Mary Hamilton so people can be up to speed with paying their water bills.

"If they get two months behind, they can pay it," she said. "If it's four or five, they can't."

The goal of these funds is to have every bill due at the exact same month. The funds are allocating, and City Hall has two weeks to let the government know if they want to apply for the money.

Next up on their agenda was developer John Kuhanek filling ditches on Macon Street. According to Mayor Fuller, the ditches are not ditches as waves where water can flow into other people's properties. Every driveway on Macon St. doesn't have pipeways and floods as a result. The county is hoping for Mr. Kuhanek to come next month's meeting to see what can be done as it relates to fixing the problem.

Mayor Fuller once again brought up the issue of wipes and towels still getting thrown into the sewer systems of Long County.  He went on to further state that every Monday morning at least one motor is being pulled. Motors and lift stations are checked every morning.  "It says wipes are disposable, and I know they're not," said Mayor Fuller. He said that the city has burned through another pump and has ordered another one. He is imploring the citizens of Ludowici to stop throwing materials of this sort into the systems.

The next order of business was discussing employees for the water department being shorthanded. Mayor Fuller declares it to be a tough job not for everybody and they are constantly looking for people to hire, but no one wants to work.

"Everybody wants to work, but not if they've got free money coming," said Mayor Fuller, expressing his disappointment. He further stated that people receiving free money is putting a damper on people working.

The jobs of the water department consist of cutting grass, repairing busted water lines, and working on sewer lines.

Walker Elementary School will play host to a food giveaway on Friday, June 11th from 10 a.m. until noon.