Cutting Bus Service, Raising Employees' Salaries Both Raise Questions

Mayor Denson has said she wants to be known as the .

So much that she wants $190,000 to go to the in the coming year. The money will pay the salary and benefits of interim director and will also help fund a receptionist at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Denson said.

Denson said she doesn't like it when she calls the chamber and a machine answers. As officials work to bring Caterpillar suppliers to Athens, Denson wants to be sure a human being picks up the phone. Chapman has office space in the chamber's building on Hancock.

These details were among those that emerged at Monday's work session on Denson's 2012-13 budget. Commissioners listened to a long presentation by Manager Alan Reddish and asked him and Denson questions about particulars. They also asked for more information.

Commissioner Jared Bailey talked about local property taxes, noting that ACC Finance Director John Culpepper has found that Athens' taxes are lower than those of surrounding counties, and lower than those in counties of similar size in the state.

Commissioner Alice Kinman said she has received her tax assessment and that the value of her house and land have dropped slightly. To pay the same taxes as last year, she would be have a .5 mil increase--and would be willing to do so.

Kinman said she wants to keep the buses running to 10pm--Denson's budget cuts the time back to 8pm--so that people can get to work. She also wants the county to fill the environmental coordinator position. Denson proposes not funding that job.

With Caterpillar and their suppliers coming, and the medical partnership expanding, Kinman said the environmental coordinator and the late night bus service are both critical to the community. Not funding them would mean "we'll be behind the curve once the growth wave kicks in," she said.

Commissioner Kathy Hoard is also concerned about keepig the nightime buses running. She said her constitutents--those who ride the bus and those who don't--want the buses to continue.

She questioned the feasibility of paying someone to sit at the front desk of the chamber. Hoard also said Denson's proposed $500 raise for all ACC employees may be more appropriate for the lower paid workers.

"The man who gets my garbage needs the money more than those making $50, $60, $70,000," she said.

In the Department of Leisure Services, the administrative costs have gone up $200,000, said Commissioner Mike Hamby, while the operating budget has dropped by $300,000. Reddish said that the charges for services have increased, while the services offered have gone down.

"Why would be be paying more in admistration but cutting back on services?" Hamby asked.

The Mayor and Commission will have another session on the budget on Thursday, when they meet with the Constitutional Officers, at 5:30pm in the Dougherty Street Building.