The City of Garland budget was amended to add $5,000 to the Fire Department’s original spending plan for 2024–25.

During discussions for the 2024-25 fiscal year, the fire department’s budget was $23,000. Commissioner Jo Strickland then reduced that amount to $15,000 when she revised the budget to allow for a lower tax rate. Her reasoning for the budget cut was that the city’s fire department would receive $170,600 from Sampson County.

The budget was finalized with these changes during the June 20 session, but the issue was raised again at a special budget session held four days later, on June 24.

Commissioner Anthony Norris, who was absent from the June 20 meeting, attended on June 24 and was upset about the final fire department budget and the final tax rate, but Mayor Austin Brown quickly allayed those concerns.

“I think you did a disservice by not showing up to vote for the fire department and give them $26,000,” he told the commissioner briefly at the June 24 meeting.

No action was taken to amend the budget during this meeting.

The next time the fire department was discussed was during the July 2 Board of Supervisors meeting, when Norris was scheduled to make a “fire department presentation.” However, the presentation was not ready by the time of the meeting, so the discussion was postponed.

At Thursday’s work session, the board voted to add $5,000 to the fire department’s budget by reorganizing other spots in the budget. What was to be reorganized was not clear, and attempts to reach board members after the meeting were unsuccessful. Thursday’s vote was passed by Strickland, Brown and Commissioner Ralph Smith Jr. The other two commissioners, Norris and Mayor pro tempore Timothy Blackburn, abstained from the vote because they are on the fire department’s staff.

“It was just about getting staff back into the station,” Norris explained after the meeting about the additional $5,000. “Right now we use the money that comes from here to fund one to two people a day, sometimes five, sometimes seven days a week. But we try to limit it to every day of the week. We also had to pull funds from the county, but that just balances it out a little bit.”

Deputy City Clerk

The wait for a new deputy city clerk is over with the recent hiring of Brooke Jordan.

Commissioners spent nearly an hour in closed session Thursday night, interviewing three potential candidates. After the closed session concluded, the board voted unanimously to hire Jordan as the new deputy city clerk.

According to City Clerk Meagan Daughtry, Jordan will start on September 3.

Previous Deputy City Clerk Ramona Arias resigned last month, along with former City Clerk Shauna’ Harper. Harper cited a “hostile work environment” as the reason for her and Arias’ departure.

Water billing directive

Confusion over water billing policy led commissioners to vote for an official policy change.

Daughtry said two residents contacted her after they were charged a late fee for not paying the water bill before Aug. 10, which fell on a Saturday. The question then arose as to whether residents would be allowed to pay their bill before 5 p.m. the following business day, or whether they would have to pay before the 10th if the bill fell on a weekend.

“There are two places where people can drop off their bills when the office is closed,” Strickland said, pointing to the mailboxes that are in the parking lot and hanging next to the door.

Mayor Brown responded that the fines would still be assessed on Monday at 9:00 a.m. if they were not paid by then. Mayor Pro Tem Blackburn confirmed this, noting that the building opens at 9:00 a.m. and there is no time to submit the bills before the fines are assessed.

Commissioners discussed allowing residents time to pay their water bill the following business day and that there would be no penalties as long as the bill was received before 5 p.m. The motion passed by a 3-1 vote, but Commissioner Strickland opposed the new rule.

Mayor Brown informed the commissioners that an ordinance amendment would need to be drafted and voted on at the next meeting to be added to the city ordinance.