The City of Hinesville has issued the following lengthy press release about updates to services.

HINESVILLE, Ga. (Mar. 19, 2020) – Effective Friday, March 20, 2020, City of Hinesville facilities will not be open to the public with limited exceptions for utility payments as they are listed below, per the release.

City operations, as listed below, will remain functional and the public will be able to conduct business online and over the phone. Please note: All procedures are subject to change as the COVID-19 situation develops and changes.

 “We are going to provide services and continue to provide services to the best of our ability for our citizens – all while keeping public health and safety at the forefront of our plans,” says Kenneth Howard, Hinesville City Manager. 

Utility Billing 

In-Person Payments Beginning Friday, March 20, the Water Department (located in City Hall) will only conduct business in-person for utility payments and new account setup on the 1st, 15th and 20th days of the month. 

On the other days new accounts will be able to be set up via phone and payments can be made via phone or online. Additionally, the City will accept payments via the drop boxes fronting Commerce Street (on the exterior wall of City Hall) and in the Municipal Parking Lot (across from the Hinesville Police Department). On the 1st, 15th and 20th days of the month and from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., there will be limited access to the building to residents making in-person payments, as outlined below. To complete either of these items via phone call, please call 912.876.3564. For those who can only make payments in-person or need to set up new accounts for service, visitors to City Hall will be following the steps below: 

• City Hall will have one entry and one exit point for the public to meet with staff to pay their utility bills OR set up new account services. 

NO OTHER IN-PERSON BUSINESS WILL BE CONDUCTED FROM THIS POINT FORWARD UNTIL OTHERWISE ADVERTISED. 

• Visitors to City Hall may park in any space behind City Hall, any public space in front of the Hinesville Police Department or utilize the Municipal Parking Lot (across from the Hinesville Police Department). There will be a single entry point to the rear parking lot of City Hall, with crossing guards directing traffic.

• In order to protect staff and residents, we will only allow 3 visitors into the building at one time to conduct their business with staff. The entry door for this will be under the breezeway fronting MLK Drive, which is also handicap accessible. City Staff will be in the parking lot and on the exterior of the building to direct visitors to the entry point, which is shaded, and to let them in the building as visitors exit.

Other Methods of Payment for Utility Bills Include: 

• Visiting the City’s Utility Bill Paying page at https://www.cityofhinesville.org/350/Online-Bill-Pay

• Check or money order via drop boxes (one located on the exterior wall of City Hall fronting Commerce Street and one located in the Municipal Parking Lot across the street from HPD) 

• Visiting the Customer Service Desk at Wal-Mart or Kroger 

• Mailed payment of check or money order (no cash please) to City of Hinesville c/o Water Department 115 E MLK Drive Hinesville, GA 31313

• Online via https://www.doxo.com/ (bank pay service that can be done on mobile phone app) Other Operational Changes As we continue to work through this time, there will be some changes to City services and functions until further notice. First and foremost, all City buildings are hereby closed to the public outside of the information listed above or published until further notice. Here is what our public needs to know for the coming days: 

Business License Department

The Business License Office will not issue permits for any events that plan to occur before May 3 at this time. 

This is subject to change. If businesses need to submit renewals for business licenses or new business applications, please submit these via email to ygreene@cityofhinesville.org. Payments for permits and licenses will be accepted via check (no cash or phone payments) drop box. 

The drop box locations are on the exterior wall of City Hall facing Commerce Street or located in the Municipal Parking Lot across from the Hinesville Police Department. Customers with questions may call 912.876.3564 or email ygreene@cityofhinesville.org for assistance. 

Municipal Court

If you have issues or questions regarding your fines and court fees to be paid or rescheduled court dates, please contact the Clerk of Court, Malissa Oberlander, at moberlander@cityofhinesville.org. The public is encouraged to make citation payments online and can also call 1.844.229.2184 to make payments for citations over the phone. To pay a citation by phone, you must have your citation number and driver’s license number. For additional questions, please contact Hinesville Municipal Court at 912.368.8026.

Probation 

Probationers may now pay their probation fees by phone or online. Online payment information for probation fees may be found at cityofhinesville.org/517/COVID-19 or by clicking here. To pay by phone, probationers may call 1.844.229.2184. You will need to provide your account number (issued by your probation officer) and your date of birth. If you have issues or questions regarding your probation fees or to be issued an account number to pay online or by phone, please contact your probation officer directly. Probation officer contact information is listed below: 

• Officer Abbott – 912.368.8198 or kabbott@cityofhinesville.org 

• Officer Long – 912.368.8205 or rlong@cityofhinesville.org 

Hinesville Police Department 

Beginning Friday, March 20, the Hinesville Police Department (HPD) lobby is no longer open to the public. HOWEVER, ALL PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES ARE STILL OPERATIONAL. If the public needs to pick up a record or any other physical items from HPD they must first call 912.368.8211 for instructions on how to accomplish this. If a police report needs to be filed, in order to protect our officers in the coming days, please call 912.368.8211 and dispatch will assign an officer to your case and they will call you to complete a report. 

Hinesville Fire Department 

Beginning Friday, March 20, the Hinesville Fire Department (HFD) will no longer be open to the public. HOWEVER, ALL PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES ARE STILL OPERATIONAL. 

If the public needs to contact HFD, please call 912.876.4143. Fire Marshals are still conducting inspections, but this may be gradually limited to annual licensing as the COVID-19 changes. 

This will be communicated through normal channels if it becomes necessary. Burn permits will be issued via online services only and can be downloaded at http://cityofhinesville.org/122/Fire-Department

 Until further notice, HFD will not be scheduling any Public Safety Education events (CPR classes, school events, trainings, etc.) or conducting residential pool fills. Additionally, the collection of False Alarm Fees will be taken via phone (credit card only) or by mail (check or money order only). 

Please remit payment to the following address: Hinesville Fire Department 103 Liberty Street Hinesville, GA 31313 

Community Development Department and Homeless Prevention Program 

Beginning Friday, March 20, the Community Development Department will be closed to the public. All business for the Community Development Department and Homeless Prevention Program will be conducted via phone and email until further notice. Required documents may be submitted by email to CommunityDevelopment@cityofhinesville.org, by fax to 912.876.6576 or City Hall drop boxes located in the Municipal Parking Lot (across from the Hinesville Police Department) or the exterior wall of City Hall (fronting Commerce Street). For questions regarding any of the Community Development Department programs, please use the following phone numbers: 

Community Development Department General Program Questions: 912.876.3164 

• Homeless Prevention Program: 912.876.6573 

Inspections 

Beginning Friday, March 20, the Inspections Department will be closed to the public, but services will still be available via online, email and phone. Permit applications can be downloaded at cityofhinesville.org/495/Permits.

If you are unable to access online forms, please contact insp_contact@cityofhinesville.org and a Permit Technician will email them to you. To submit a permit, applicants must fax, email or mail the permit and the plans to insp_contact@cityofhinesville.org. 

The fax number to Inspections, along with the mailing address are listed below. If the attachments are too big to send via email, the Inspections Department will also accept links to Dropbox, Google Drive or similar shared folders. Additionally, the Inspections Department will accept payments for permits via mail or drop box. Applicants can download a One-Time Credit Card Authorization form on the Inspections Department website or can be emailed to applicants (insp_contact@cityofhinesville.org). 

To pay by check or money order (no cash please), you can mail your documents to the address listed below or use the City’s drop boxes located on the exterior of City Hall facing Commerce Street or in the Municipal Parking Lot directly across from HPD. Receipts and approved permits will be emailed to applicants. Inspections and Code Enforcement Officers are still conducting business in the community until otherwise announced. Contact information for the Inspections Department is listed below:

Mailing Address: 

City of Hinesville 

 ATTN: Inspections Department 

 115 E MLK Drive Hinesville, GA 31313 

Phone Number: 912.876.4147 

Email Addresses: Permits: insp_contact@cityofhinesville.org 

Plans Review: rholley@cityofhinesville.org 

Code Enforcement Complaints: ce_contact@cityofhinesville.org GIS Requests: wpoon@cityofhinesville.org 

Liberty Transit 

Liberty Transit routes will continue to operate as scheduled until further notice. Buses are sanitized daily, and staff have taken all precautions to protect drivers and riders at this time. If services are disrupted, notice will be given as far in advance as possible to the public. 

Liberty Transit – Paratransit Services 

With the closure of Hinesville City Hall, Liberty Transit Paratransit in-office visits will no longer be available to receive applications. However, the paratransit application is available at libertytransit.org or interested parties may call 912.877.1472 to be emailed or mailed an application or for application assistance. Paratransit services will continue until otherwise advertised. 

Hinesville Downtown Development Authority 

The Hinesville Downtown Development Authority (HDDA) will be closing offices to the public at this time. Additionally, all events occurring between March 16 and May 3 have either been cancelled or postponed. This includes the Hinesville Market @ Bradwell Park. Dates for rescheduled events will be published in the coming weeks and a list of affected events will be published to the cityofhinesville.org/517/COVID-19 website. 

The ITPA Museum is closed until further notice. Bryant Commons will close to the public on Friday, March 20. We ask that the public to follow our Facebook page for updates regarding closures, cancellations and postponements. 

Public Works 

The Public Works Department will continue to operate as scheduled. However, we do ask that members of the public refrain from approaching staff in the field unless absolutely necessary. Instead, please call 912.876.8216 for questions or requests. Human Resources Beginning Friday, March 20, the Human Resources Department will be closed to the public and the City of Hinesville will begin implementing a hiring freeze. If you have applied for a position and have questions about your application, please contact Human Resources at 912.876.3564. The City asks for patience from our citizens and customers during these unprecedented times. The COVID-19 situation is a very fluid one - with a great amount of new information coming in daily, sometimes hourly. As the situation changes, as it inevitably will, we will continue to share information via our social media pages, New Flash alerts and COVID-19 webpage. These measures are being put in place to protect both our citizens and our staff members  so that City operations can continue with as few disruptions to services as possible. We ask that residents practice social distancing as advised by the CDC during this time. Some helpful information regarding what social distancing means and its importance can be found here. This link will also be available on the City’s website by COB on Thursday, March 19. If you would like to sign up for news alerts from the City of Hinesville, visit cityofhinesville.org/list.aspx . Additional information regarding COVID-19 will be shared as it becomes available via the City’s website and social media accounts. Please visit our COVID-19 page for the latest information out of the City of Hinesville as it relates to our response to the COVID-19 situation in Georgia. For more information, please contact Whitney Morris – Reed, Public Relations Manager, at wmorrisreed@cityofhinesville.org