The Columbia County Board of Commissioners will discuss an ordinance regarding hotels and motels during the meeting on Tuesday, June 18.
The ordinance, which was discussed at the Management and Internal Services Committee meeting on June 11, County Manager Scott Johnson said the ordinance is a proactive one that the county wants to enact after seeing other jurisdictions struggling with people checking into hotels, but not checking out.
MORE: District 131 seat to be decided in runoff election Tuesday
“We really don’t have a tremendous amount of that problem in Columbia County, but we don’t really want to have that,” Johnson said. “We thought it would be good, with the chairman’s leadership, to do some sort of ordinance that would protect Columbia County proactively against that type of thing… (it) gives us the ability to take care of those situations, give the sheriff’s office the ability to evict with the help health code enforcement, obviously, to be able to protect the hotel owner from somebody who is not paying to stay in that room.”
This is the first of two readings for the ordinance and staff is recommending approval.
The board will also discuss a resolution to adopt the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget. According to the agenda document, the county is presenting a balanced budget.
“When initial budget requests were received, revenues exceeded expenditures (with no contingency fund) within the General Fund by $1.08 million,” according to the agenda document. “Based on further analysis and discussions with County staff and elected officials, projected revenues within the General Fund were increased by $5.5 million and projected expenditures were increased by $3.07 million, to result in a balanced General Fund budget of $100.6 million, including a contingency fund of $3,468,686. A summary of these changes is attached. All other funds are balanced as well.”
Staff is recommending approval of the fiscal year 2024-25 budget.
Commissioners will also hold the second reading of the resolution to amend the fee schedule for the Columbia County Performing Arts Center. Staff is recommending approval of the resolution.
Also on the agenda is a revision of the zoning of 4584 Columbia Road, 100 Hillcrest Drive and 2109 Oak Ridge Road to allow for temporary classrooms at the location until the new school for Trinity Baptist Church is built.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 in the auditorium at the Government Center complex. The full agenda can be found at columbiacountyga.gov.
Stephanie Hill is the managing editor and covers Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
