Greene County Democrat

Tag: Rick Harbin

  • Eutaw City Council meets May 13 and tables action on many issues

    The Eutaw City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, May 13, 2024, because members were planning to leave the next day to attend the Alabama League of Municipalities convention. Mayor Latasha Johnson and all members of the Council were present for the meeting.

    At the request of Council member, Jonathan Woodruff, the Council voted to amend the resolution to not allow members of the Eutaw Police Department to drive city vehicles home, so it would be easier and faster to arrive at crime scenes if they are called. Woodruff said, “We recently voted to give the police officers a raise and we are discontinuing the perk of being able to drive police cars home, even to residences out of the county. We allowed this expenditure, in place of a raise, but now that we have given the raise, we are no long permitting the cars to be driven home.”

    In the first of several tabling motions, the Council tabled a request from the Goodson Storm Shelter at 871 County Road 181, which is in the fire district of Eutaw, to be reimbursed for costs of electricity, water and gas.
    This was discussed in the May 7th work session and moved to the agenda for approval. Council members wanted more information on whether they were legally responsible for these storm shelter expenses.

    A representative of Living Waters, contractor for the city’s sewage system, was present at the meeting and asked the Council to approve the Municipal Water Pollution Prevention Report to be sent to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). The report is a compilation of monthly reports. Several City Council members said that they had just received the report and had not had a chance to read it. The Council voted to table action on the report until its next meeting on May 28th, which will still enable the report to be filed on time.

    The Council then took up four requests for use of the Robert H. Young Community Center, by IRS 501c3, non-profit organizations, who may use the facility, at no charge, if the meeting has a ‘public purpose’. The Council approved the Greene County Childrens’ Policy Council for a public meeting and the Southern Poverty Law Center for a June 15th festival on voting rights. The Council tabled the requests of the Order of Eastern Stars and Eutaw High School Class of 1979, to determine if their meetings had a public purpose.

    The Council and the Mayor had a discussion of the prior decision to reduce the work time for employees to four days a week. Originally the Mayor tried to implement this with a half a day of work on Thursday and half day on Friday. Most of the employees thought it would be most effective to work a full day on Thursdays and take Friday off. The Council members want City Hall to be open on both Thursday and Friday for residents to transact business. Mayor Johnson said that as part of her day-to-day supervision responsibilities, she accepted the staff recommendations. Councilwomen Hunter asserted that the Council wants the City Hall open five days a week.
    The Council said they would come back to resolve this in the next meeting.

    Councilwomen Hunter also supported a motion for a hiring freeze, so no new staff are hired by the city. The Mayor said she was already abiding by a hiring freeze but felt this was again part of her “day-to-day supervising responsibilities”. This issue was not formally resolved with any actions. The Council also voted to pay outstanding bills.

    The Council also received several reports from Ralph Liverman, Financial Advisor. One report was on the status of the $500,370 loan from  Merchants and Farmers Bank for equipment and trucks. Liverman reported that as of April 30, 2024, 31 monthly payments of $11,169.08 had been made, leaving a balance of $185,014.81 to be paid by the end of 2025.

    Liverman also provided a report on 22 city operating bank accounts in Merchants and Farmers Bank for the first seven months of the FY2023-24. The General Fund had a balance of $185,002 as of April 30, 2024. Based on the budget, funds are available in most accounts to honor all financial obligations of the city through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2024. However, Liverman points out that the Council must be vigilant and not overspend and consider an increase in water and sewer rates because this department is operating at a deficit, that will need to be covered by the General Fund at the end of the fiscal period.

    Rick Harbin, CPA and the auditor of the city’s funds was present and informed the Council that he was 95% complete with the audit for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2023. He said he hoped to have a complete report for approval by the Council at the meeting at the end of the month.
    The city needs the audit to qualify for certain grant funds.

  • Eutaw City Council holds two called meetings; Audit for September 30, 2022 is approved

    The Eutaw City Council held two called meetings on January 22 and January 29, 2024 to deal with important business. It handled some of the business and deferred other matters to a proposed ‘work session” next week.

    At the January 29, 2024 meeting, the Council received a detailed report on the CPA audit of its finances for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. Auditor Rick Harbin of Tuscaloosa presented the 47-page report and stated that his firm was able to issue a letter, at the beginning of the audit, that the statements “reflect fairly the financial position of the city and that the reports follow standard accounting principles accepted in the USA.”

    Harbin said the audit was clean and clear and represented the best efforts to account for the city’s assets, liabilities, and net position. Mayor Latasha Johnson thanked the staff, particularly Shakelvia Spencer and Joe Powell, as well as Financial Adviser Ralph Liverman for their work in keeping accurate records. “Having this audit, will allow us to receive and compete for state and Federal funding going forward. The funding sources are requiring us to have audits that show we are capable of handling and spending government funds,” said Mayor Johnson.

    The audit shows that the City of Eutaw has combined Assets between governmental and business (mainly the water and sewer system) of $9,739,000 as compared with $9,477,000, the previous year. The report shows total Liabilities of $2,933,000; and total Liabilities and  Net Position of $12,978,000.

    The 47-page audit contains many other financial statements and notes dealing with the finances of the city, which the councilmembers must review and study for guidance in making policy decisions. For instance, the report shows a negative $489,349 in revenues, compared with expenses for the water and sewer system. If this trend continues, the Council may need to raise water and sewer rates. The audit also shows $ 577,681 in revenues from Bingo distributions in FY 2022, The Sheriff has not provided bingo distributions to Eutaw and other Greene County municipalities since May of 2023.

    The Mayor presented a proposal at both meetings to re-organize the staff and give raises to employees accepting promotions to higher positions.
    These changes were necessitated by the illness and retirement of longtime city employee, Larry Sanford. The Council did not make a motion to approve these items and they were deferred for discussion to a working session to be held next week.

    At the January 22 meeting, the Council approved a Resolution on the Usage of City Vehicles, which stated that city employees who live outside the city police jurisdiction cannot drive city vehicles to their home. Mayor Johnson placed an item on the January 29, 2024 meeting agenda, to rescind this policy. Many police officers, who live outside the police jurisdiction want to drive city police cars home, so they can respond to emergencies more quickly. The Council tabled this matter and deferred it to the proposed work session.

    At the January 22nd meeting, the Council approved an agreement to allow the Alabama Forestry Commission to construct a 60-foot by 60-foot storage building to house its equipment on the city’s property behind the National Guard Armory. This will make the equipment more readily available than parking the equipment in Tuscaloosa. At the meeting the Council approved a plan for road improvements on the west end of Eutaw, under the Rebuild Alabama grant program. The Council also approved a $21,620 grant from Communities United for GIS mapping of city infrastructure, especially the water and sewer system. The grant requires a $1,000 matching from the city.

    At the January 29th meeting the Council approved a grievance procedure, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, where persons with disabilities may make written complaints to the City Clerk and get due process and consideration of their complaints. The Council also passed an ordinance (No. 2024-01-29 #5) for Public Tree Planting in the City of Eutaw, which will be printed in the public notice section of this newspaper.

    The Council was asked to approve use of the gym at the Robert H. Young Community Center (formerly Carver School) at a compensatory rate for IRS 501c3, non-profit organizations, for the Black Pearls Tru Partner’s event on February 24, 2024. The Council deferred in making a decision and referred this to the coming work session to develop a fee schedule for events to be held at city facilities.

  • Eutaw City Council meets Jan. 9th, hears from CPA, engineers, and others

    The Eutaw City Council held its first meeting of the new year on January 9, 2024. The mayor and all council members, including newly appointed District 2 member, Jonathan Woodruff were in attendance.

    The Eutaw City Council heard a report from Rick Harbin, its Certified Public Accountant on the status of the audit for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. Harbin passed out and read from a draft report and collected the reports after his presentation.

    Harbin said he was still refining the numbers and would have a full report with an opinion on the city finances by the end of the month. He went over the major findings including that the city had total assets of $12.9 million dollars. Complete details will be available when the official report is released. Harbin said some of the delay was caused by the city switching to a new accounting system and some was based on personal family emergencies that required his attention.

    Harbin said once the 2022 fiscal year audit was issued, he planned to move ahead with the 2023 fiscal year report, which will go more smoothly.
    Mayor Latasha Johnson said the audits were needed to apply for grants to assist and improve the city facilities. Angela Henline, the city’s engineer for the water and sewer project supported this saying she needed to report to ADEM, when the audit would be ready to be able to apply for continuing grants on the city water and sewer improvement projects that she is supervising.

    The Council approved a Proclamation naming January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the city. The proclamation highlights the importance of citizen awareness of the problem in helping to resolve it.

    The Council approved an agreement with the Sixth Day Saddle Club for using parts of the Lock 7 City Park for horse rides, trail rides and horse shows.

    At the request of City Police Chief, Tommy Johnson, the Council approve purchase of a police dog for the city for $23,000. The Chief has raised $20,000 for the dog from the public and was asking the Council for the additional $3,000 needed to acquire the dog. The dog will be able to do search and rescue operations for people lost around the city, as well as drug enforcement during traffic stops or when asked by the school system or others to investigate for drugs.

    The Council chose Tracey Hunter, District 3 Councilmember, to be Mayor  Pro Temp, to assume the duties of the mayor, in the case of  her absence.  Hunter was unopposed for the position.

    Assistant Clerk, Joe Powell opened bids for the sale of the city owned, but inoperable, Greyhound bus, which is parked behind the National Guard Armory. LA Transportation offered $2,500 and Cliff Taylor offered $2,700 for the bus. The council awarded the bid to Taylor.

    The Council agreed to a Work Session on January 22 at 4:00 PM to review and discuss a property rental policy for city facilities, like the Robert H. Young Community Center and the National Guard Armory. The council agreed to rescind charges for using exercise equipment that had been donated to the city for use by residents to improve their health and wellbeing.

    The Council approved a plan for the Rebuild Alabama Funds that it receives for road and bridge improvement. There is not enough money to do all the needed projects but the plan lists and prioritizes work on the most needed project.

    Angela Henline, engineer for the city’s water and sewer improvement project made a report on current work underway and requested approval for the next set of projects, which was approved by the council. This included awarding of contracts for pump station improvements and upgrading the Lower Gainesville Road Force Main.

    Mr. Ralph Liverman, City Financial Advisor gave the Council five reports on financial issues and bank balances, one of the reports on the lack of income from rental of city owned properties will be discussed at the upcoming work session.

    The Council approved liquor licenses for the sale of beer and wine at Eutaw Station Inc. (formerly One Stop) on Highway 43 and or a new Dollar General Market, that is being built on Highway 43.

    The Council approved paying of bills and tabled a $500 claim for damage, by the Eutaw Fire Department, to a mailbox and basketball goal for ReShonda Daniels.

    District 5 Council member, Jacqueline Stewart, who works at the Love’s Travel Center said they were interested in stronger security on weekends and wanted help from the Eutaw Police Department. The Mayor and the Chief agreed to meet with Love’s and see what could be worked out, similar to efforts made with Rock Tenn.

    In the public comments, Siegfried Williams, Pastor of the Freedom Rock Church, renewed his request to purchase five acres from the city as a site for the church and community center. The city is conducting an appraisal of its properties to determine a fair market price.

  • Eutaw City Council approves change in garbage collection contract

    7th grader Joveon Carpenter received award from Mayor Johnson and Council members
    L to R: Jacqueline Stewart, Phillips Cherry, Mayor Latasha Johnson, Marcus Burton, Paul Jones, LaJeffery Carpenter, Larrie Coleman and Valeria Watkins at presentation of certificates to Water Department trainee

    At its most recent regular meeting on November 9, 2021, the Eutaw City Council approved the assignment of the Waste Management contract for garbage collection to Arrow Disposal Service as of December 1, 2021.

    Mike Mitchell representing Waste Management appeared before the Council and said, “We are unable to pick-up the garbage on a regular schedule in the City of Eutaw, due to labor shortages, and we are requesting assignment of this contract, to give the people better service.”

    The city’s current contract with Waste Management runs through 2023. Arrow Disposal Service is picking up trash in Hale County and will be
    able to fulfill the schedule in the City of Eutaw. Waste Management is allowing the new company to use its garbage bins. Mayor Johnson said the new company would follow the same routes and schedule as the old company for the same cost to the city.

    Rick Harbin, a CPA from Tuscaloosa gave an interim report to the City Council on his work to audit Eutaw’s finances. He said the last city audit was in 2012 and the last statement was for 2014. Harbin has reviewed the records and prepared a statement as of September 30, 2017 to have a starting point for his audit work. Using the 2017 starting numbers, he is working on an audit or fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and the current year 2020-21.

    Harbin said he hoped to be able to give the city an “unqualified opinion” on its finances based on the records he has been reviewing. He mentioned that he had a found a large water loss in the city’s water department, which needs to be analyzed and corrected since this is the propriety function of the city where it is pumping and selling water to the residents.

    The City Council approved a contract of $ 6,230 with the Eutaw Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with a reimbursable grant they are receiving from the Tombigbee RC&D for signage and beautification. The Chamber will repay the city from grant proceeds.

    The City Council agreed to a proposal from the Alabama Children’s Policy Council to place a Little Free Outdoor Library at the City Park and Tennis Courts on Mesopotamia Avenue.

    In other actions, the Eutaw City Council:

    • Approved a resolution concerning zoning for the Rollingwood Apartments, Morrow Realty Company.

    • Approved expenditure of $7,000 for National Water Services for a flow test and maintenance of city water wells. This expense is already included in the budget.

    • Approved Next Level Leaders use of the R. H. Young Community Center Gym on November 13 for $50.00.

    • Approved use of police officers to use city vehicles for part-time patrol at West-Rock manufacturing facilities.

    •Approved Supreme Electrical Service for additional work on city facilities.

    • Agreed to pay bills.

    In her Mayor’s report, Latasha Johnson, called up Javeon Carpenter, a 7th grader at Robert Brown Middle School, and presented him a certificate and award for helping to stop a fight between students at his school. Police Chief Tommy Johnson recommended him for this award.

    The Mayor also gave certificates to three Water Department employees – Marcus Burton, Phillip Cherry and Paul Jones – who are studying to receive certification as water operators.