Council plans fee-schedule review, partners with Georgia Southern practicum student and notes audit acceptance

Councilors discussed an upcoming comprehensive review of the city fee schedule and will compare Walnut Grove’s current fees to peer cities such as Social Circle, Monroe and Loganville. The presiding official said staff will circulate a spreadsheet before the next work session and that the council plans to vote on fee updates in early March.

The council also approved (by direction) participation in a Georgia Southern University practicum: a student in a practicum course will work with city staff for one semester to draft a new employee manual at no cost. The presiding official said the student will present a finished product at the semester’s end and the city’s attorneys will review the manual before adoption.

The presiding official reported that the city’s audit was accepted by the Board of Accountancy (BOAA) without issues. She also briefly noted other upcoming items and events, including flagpole plans at the library, a community group event (Church of the Grove), public-works training, drone flights to support zoning and code enforcement, and planned future agenda items including a new code-enforcement truck and a dump trailer for public works.

Council approved the meeting agenda with modifications at the start of the session; the motion to approve the agenda with changes passed by unanimous show of hands. The presiding official closed the meeting after a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved.