By Angie Thompson, Senior Reporter
TIFTON — The Tifton City Council voted Thursday afternoon to set new starting times for all city meetings and to hold workshop sessions on an as needed basis to accommodate city employees. The vote came during a called meeting, which followed an informational session.
The council’s workshop sessions have been held at 5:30 p.m. the third Monday of each month prior to the regular city council meetings, which have been held at 6 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. Now, the regular meetings, in which the council generally takes action on business items for the city, will be held at 5 p.m. Also, the Council will now hold either an informational meeting or a workshop session, beginning at 5 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, and, if necessary, beginning at 5 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month.
Regular meetings are normally held in city council chambers on the first floor of Tifton City Hall, with informational sessions held in a conference room upstairs. The resolution adopted by city council Thursday evening states the regular meetings will continue to be held in council chambers with the city announcing the location of other public meetings, including the informational sessions and the workshop sessions.
City Attorney Greg Sowell said Thursday council members decided to change the meeting times to “accommodate employees who have put in a full work day and then have to come back for another two or three hours” for the council meetings.
Workshop sessions are designed, Sowell said, to “prepare council for regular meetings” when the Council generally takes action on items.
“None of this is to discourage citizen input,” Sowell said.
Sowell said that it isn’t unusual for council to adjust a person’s or a group’s position on the agenda to accommodate people who wish to address council for some reason, but find it difficult to make the 5 p.m. starting time.
Sowell said council meetings were held 20 years ago at 7:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. He said that if a public hearing, such as for zoning issues, was needed, the hearing would begin at 7 p.m., even if it only took five minutes, Council members had to wait until 7:30 p.m. to begin the regular session. Sowell said former city manager Charlie Howell instituted the workshop sessions.
Council members also discussed the following items during their Thursday meeting:
• Heard from new building maintenance division director Chuck Hester who reported his department has saved the city $11,250 through preventative maintenance, replacing items such as heating and air conditioning units and light bulbs that weren’t energy-efficient and making repairs. He said the cost of doing the repairs and preventative maintenance would have cost the city $28,050 if the labor had been contracted out.
• Discussed the purchase of a modern printer for placement on the third floor of city hall. Request for proposals are expected to be mailed to businesses soon.
• Discussed the purchase of a bulldozer for use at the landfill.
• Discussed the purchase of a ladder truck for the Tifton Fire Department.
• Discussed the naming of roads in Oakridge Cemetery.
To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.
