The Grovetown City Council approved a 7.5 percent pay increase for employees and raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour in its meeting July 12.
“Our findings were that if we leave the millage rate at 7.62 and not roll it back, the increase in the tax digest would provide us with approximately $350,000 in revenue. We can also use some of the American Rescue Federal funds, and we have a contingency source as well. These raises will make the city of Grovetown more attractive and competitive on the job market,” Grovetown Mayor Gary Jones wrote in a Facebook post late Monday.
In other business, the council agreed to review an ordinance regulating recreational vehicle parking.
The ordinance was first adopted in December 2018. Its purpose was to prevent deterioration of neighborhoods by the storage of recreational vehicles in certain areas, primarily streets, lots and public rights-of-way in residential zoned districts.
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Council Member Deborah Fisher motioned to review, restructure and readopt the ordinance. This was met with opposition by Grovetown resident C.A. Bargeron. Bargeron indicated that Fisher’s initial motivation for having repealed the ordinance and then revisiting it for restructuring was an inability to institute a homeowner’s association in her area.
Fisher noted that homeowners’ associations must be instituted when the homes are first built and cannot be added after. Jones made the motion to appoint a committee led by Fisher for the purpose of revising the ordinance. The council agreed.
Also, the council tabled a resolution from Sylvester Rosier, public works director, to enter into a contract with Shepco Paving, Inc. of Alpharetta worth $379,562.15 in order to perform paving improvements on Lory Lane.
The Council also honored local author Kristie Johnson whose book “High Cotton” was recently published. “High Cotton” is a book of autobiographical essays about Johnson’s life growing up in Grovetown.
Skyler Andrews is a reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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