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Politics & Government

Winder City Council Approves Ward Redistricting, Bill Round-up

A recap of the July 12 meeting of the Winder City Council.

Who met: Winder City Council

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Location:

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Who was present: Mayor George “Chip” Thompson III; council members Sonny Morris, Charlie Eberhart, Ridley Parrish, Frank Dunagan, and David Maynard; City Clerk Sabrina Wall; City Administrator Donald Toms; Police Lt. Rob Curott; Interim Fire Chief Matt Whiting; city employee Ambrose Jackson; city administrator Ernie Graham

Top agenda items:

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1. The Winder City Council voted unanimously to reapportion and redistrict Winder’s four wards. In reaction to the results of the 2010 census, the council voted to redraw district lines to accommodate changes in population of the wards. Currently, there is a 1,000 person difference, representing 30.55 percent of the city’s population, between the largest and smallest districts. With the approved changes there will be a difference of 63 people, or 1.79 percent. The changes should accommodate federal and state standards, which require each ward to have approximately the same amount of people. The United States Department of Justice must review the changes to make sure they adhere to the standards of the Voting Rights Act before the changes can go into effect.

2. The city council approved an amendment that allows businesses that sell alcohol to extend their hours to 1:55 a.m. This change is effective immediately.

3. The council approved new community center rates. The new rates break down the costs of the use of the center and its facilities by day of the week and time of day. The breakdown allows the community center to raise rates for weekend events while offering the center at a discounted rate for weekday events.

4. The council approved the round-up program proposed by Heating Energy Assistance Team, or H.E.A.T. The decision allows the nonprofit organization to include a form attached to monthly energy bills inviting Winder residents to make donations. According to H.E.A.T. State Director Janet Joseph, 85 percent of the proceeds will go toward families in need, while 15 percent will be retained for administration costs. The funds are appropriated statewide, yet Joseph explained that approximately $4,000 in aid was donated to Winder area residents over the past two years. Residents who choose to donate can opt out of the program at any time.

5. Winder City Police Department Lieutenant Rob Curott reported a decrease in both major and minor crimes versus last year during the month of June. Curott told the council Tuesday that major crimes decreased 12 percent versus last year and minor crimes decreased 18 percent decrease. In addition to an decrease in crimes there were also 22 percent more apprehensions versus June 2010 and an increase of 1,388 calls for service from city of Police. Curott also reported that the police department will participate in Public Safety Day from 10 a.m. o 2 p.m. July 23 at .

6. City Administrator Donald Toms reported that the finance department paid off two Georgia Environment Finance Authority, or GEFA, loans during the month of July. Of the five remaining GEFA loans the city holds, one more is scheduled to be paid off by the end of the fiscal year. Toms told the council that the finance department is looking into paying off more loans. He explained that as of July 31, 2010, the city of Winder had $9,336,873 in the bank. As of June 30, 2011, the city had $11,990,761 in gross cash on hand. This represents a 7 percent increase in operating cash over the last fiscal year. Toms explained that “it may not be a bad time to go ahead and retire some of our other GEFA debts and put that interest towards other areas.”

The City Council will meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Winder Community Center.

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