Hiram City Council Re-Evaluating City Charter

A city manager could one day be added to the payroll of the if councilmen tonight move forward on a plan to amend the city’s charter.

The Hiram City Council meets tonight for In addition to a proposal to amend the city charter, on the table for the council’s consideration are a contract renewal with Paulding County Economic Development and the renewal of the Georgia Municipal Employee Benefit System program.

All the council members said last week they would consider changing the city’s charter to include the eventual hiring of a city manager, but were uncertain even after submitting their proposal to the state legislature how soon that would happen and that even though it may prove beneficial in the long run, if doing so in the near future would work well with the current budget. During their first regular meeting for 2012, the council approved several measures that eliminated three staff positions.

The council met in a special called meeting over a week ago to discuss the move, and decided that more time was needed to consider the proposal.  

Both Councilwomen Teresa Philyaw and Kathy Bookout said last week that some additional impetus to reach a decision and submit a joint proposal comes from a desire to submit it to the Georgia General Assembly during the current legislative session and prior to the election of a new mayor, which happens next month in a special election.

“It would just be better if we’d done that already, regardless of who the new mayor coming in will be,” Bookout said.

The council is also expected to vote on an item regarding the agreement to reinstate/renew the 2012 Georgia Municipal Employee Benefit System, which was tabled last month. 

Randy Logan, GMA Employee Benefits counselor, provided an informational presentation concerning Hiram’s current Retirement/Pension program during a called meeting held last week. 

Also tabled from last month was an item for the signing of the 2012 Paulding Economic Development contract.

Director Jamie Gilbert and Hiram representatives Hugh Smith and Jim Croft presented an update last week on the organization’s progress and current projects, telling the council that Hiram and its already established commercial center would be a key factor to the overall continued development to the county’s economic growth, referencing both the future WellStar hospital and the new film production facility.

But Gilbert added that without an interstate nearby, project managers won’t be as willing to locate in Paulding as they otherwise might, and it is for this reason, Gilbert said, that his organization and other county officials should be more proactive in promoting the county to new businesses and have both real estate product available and shovel-ready sites.

Earlier this month, the renewed their contract with the organization.

The council may also vote on an item to include the city in a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax project to upgrade the police department and public works radio system in compliance with Paulding County’s new radio system implementation through E-911 and future expenditure of SPLOST funds estimated not to exceed $210,000 for the project equipment and radio system infrastructure.

Hiram Police Chief Yandura told the council last week that the new radio system will increase the capacity to communicate among law enforcement and other agencies. Expenses to the city are primarily involved with hardware needed to link with county infrastructure.

And the council may also vote on a list of surplus vehicles and other equipment to sell through auction, salvage or trade and to authorize the Hiram Police Department to purchase a license plate recognition system using $10,000 awarded by the 2011 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant and available SPLOST funds for the remaining balance of $6,980.

The council will then turn to some new business, including:

• Robbie Finley, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, will address the Council in order to update the status, activities and accomplishments of the FCA in Hiram and Paulding County. The city of Hiram has been a contributor to the FCA and its community projects for the past two years. 

• A measure to authorize Mayor Pro Tem Derrick Battle to enter into an agreement with Sutton Consulting to provide professional services to the city.

• A measure to authorize an $11,000 recreation SPLOST expenditure to Sport Surfaces International Inc. for the repair and resurfacing of tennis and basketball courts. 

• Renewal of three alcohol-on-premises consumption full-pouring licenses without changes.