The Greensboro City Council Monday night approved a $9,099,138 budget for the year beginning Oct. 1. It comes with a millage tax rate of 5.33, which is unchanged from the current year.
Revenue for the city primarily comes from Local Option Sales Taxes ($1.2 million), property taxes ($790,000), and municipal court fines ($150,495).
The city also operates its own water and sewer system. It expects to receive $2.7 million in charges and fees that are offset by the cost of operating the system. Greensboro is also part of the Tri-County Natural Gas system, which generates $850,000 in revenue for the city, according to the budget.
The big ticket on the expense side is police services, which is budgeted at $2,060,000. The Highway and Street department has a budget of $910,900.
New City Manager Jarvis Sims is being paid $136,500 plus another $43,000 in benefits, travel, and training, according to the approved budget.
As of Monday, the city had about $7,935,000 in accounts at BankSouth, Farmer’s Bank, and Truist Bank. Most of the money comes from various sources, including the general operating fund, Local Option Sales Taxes, the federal American Rescue Plan, and investments.
In other money issues, the council narrowly approved $250,000 for a new street sweeper with financing through the Georgia Municipal Association. The vote was 3-2 with Mayor Pro-Tem David Neal and Councilman Jontavius Smith opposing the purchase.
“I think that’s a substantial amount for one machine to do one thing,” Neal told the Lake Oconee News. “I think it’s a bad investment for the city.”
Crime
Assistant Police Chief Tommy Nelson reported on police activity so far this year compared to the same time last year.
He said that crimes against persons dropped from 16 cases at this time last year to 13 cases this year. Crimes against property were slightly higher with 33 cases this year compared to 31 in the same period last year.
A third category, crimes against society, includes drug arrests, of which he said there have been five cases this year, an improvement over 18 cases this time last year.
However, Nelson said there’s something new to be concerned about.
“I’m also seeing that some blacks here in the community are starting to dabble in the sales of meth (methamphetamine),” he told the city council. “Last weekend we went to the house of a young man who ran out the window on us. We found a bookbag right outside that window. Inside the bookbag were meth, crack cocaine, and ecstasy pills. Mushrooms have also made it to Greensboro. We’ve had two near-fatal incidents.”
So-called Magic Mushrooms, Mushrooms, or Shrooms contain psilocybin, which the Drug Enforcement Agency says creates hallucinations and an inability to discern fantasy from reality.
According to The New York Times, psilocybin has shown significant promise for treating severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and end-of-life anxiety among the terminally ill, among other mental health conditions.” Research about that is going on in Oregon, where psilocybin became legal for adults on Jan. 1. It is illegal in all other states.
Also at Monday’s meeting:
• Nelson reported that new cameras are being installed in front of Carson Middle School and Greene County High School to watch for speeders on that straight stretch of Main Street, where the speed limit drops for drivers heading into town. He expects them to be operational in another week or two. “Soon we’re going to be running an ad in the paper letting everybody know that cameras are up and running and we’ll be giving warnings for about 30 days,” he said.
• Sims told the Lake Oconee News that water service was cut off to some 130 delinquent customers following the Sept. 5 deadline to pay back due accounts.
He added that, as word got out that it was happening, some people came in “to pay substantial past due bills.”
• Council also heard an update on the city’s five-year Comprehensive Plan, which is being developed with help from the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC). Mark Beatty from NEGRC said the zoning and land use long range plan will be expanded with more detail. Also, NEGRC will add new topics to Greensboro’s plan - broadband services, transportation, housing, and economic development.