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Votes at a glance: Houston County commissioners approve positions, contracts, grants, road projects and budget ratifications
Summary
The Houston County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a slate of personnel, procurement, grant and budget items, including a finance-clerk position, a court‑reporter contract, a $96,505 VOCA grant, $429,176.04 in Project SOAP funds to the Development Authority, and a 2025 LMIG road list.
At the meeting, the Houston County Board of Commissioners recorded a series of unanimous votes approving personnel additions, contracts, grants, board appointments, grant-funded distributions, local maintenance projects and final audit-related budget adjustments. Below are the outcomes and key details captured in the public record.
Votes at a glance
- Approval of minutes (Dec. 17, 2024). Motion: approve minutes. Mover: Commissioner Towton. Second: Commissioner Robinson. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Position control: finance clerk (position 0017). Motion: add finance clerk #0017 to the Houston County position control list at grade 17. Mover: Commissioner Gottwald. Second: Commissioner Robinson. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Employee contract: court reporter for new Superior Court judge. Motion: approve and sign an employment contract with Ms. Courtney Bridges for full‑time court reporting services for Judge Amy Smith from Jan. 8, 2025 through June 30, 2025. Compensation listed in the contract: $4,483.85 for January 2025; $5,791.66 for each month February–May 2025; and $5,791.74 for June 2025; total $33,442.23. Mover: Commissioner Gottwald. Second: Commissioner Towton. Outcome: approved unanimously. The contract allows accounting to make any necessary budget adjustments.
- Board appointments. Motion: approve listed board appointments (Hospital Authority; Land Bank; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities advisory committee / Region 6). Mover: Commissioner Tal. Second: Commissioner Gottwald. Outcome: approved unanimously. (Names and term dates were read into the record.)
- VOCA grant acceptance for Victim Services. Motion: accept the 2025 VOCA Grant C23 for $96,505 for the solicitor general’s office. Mover: Commissioner Towton. Second: Commissioner Robinson. Outcome: approved unanimously. The required local match was reported waived by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Counsel of Georgia.
- Project SOAP funds distribution. Motion: distribute Project SOAP funds of $429,176.04 to the Development Authority of Houston County (additional installment received Oct. 16, 2024). Mover: Commissioner Robinson. Second: Commissioner Gottwald. Outcome: approved unanimously. Record notes SOAP funds were originally provided as matching dollars (SPLOST/local) to buy properties near Robins AFB and are being repaid via PILOT payments; the development authority will hold funds for future acquisitions.
- Final audit budget adjustments (FY2024). Motion: ratify final audit budget adjustments made under temporary delegated authority (delegation to Chairman, Director of Administration Robbie Dunbar and Director of Finance Danielle George) and approved at the first January meeting. Mover: Commissioner Towton. Second: Commissioner Robinson. Outcome: approved unanimously. Meeting record notes no large unexpected expense increases except a capital increase in the fire fund to complete construction of the new Bonaire fire station (funded in part from the insurance premium tax reserve).
- Memorandum of agreement (LMIG bidding). Motion: approve an MOA with the city of Warner Robins, city of Centerville, city of Perry and city of Byron to combine LMIG projects for bidding to seek lower prices. Mover: Commissioner Gottwald. Second: Commissioner Towton. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- LMIG road list (2025). Motion: approve the 2025 LMIG road list (8.07 miles) for submission to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Mover: Commissioner Robinson. Second: Commissioner Gottwald. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Approval of payment of county bills. Motion: approve payment of county bills totaling $3,183,491.71. Mover: Commissioner Robinson. Second: Commissioner Towton. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Executive session. Motion: enter executive session for attorney‑client matters (OCGA § 50‑14‑2). Mover: Commissioner Robinson. Second: Commissioner Gottwald. Outcome: approved; commissioners entered executive session. The meeting returned to open session with no action taken as a result of the executive session.
What the votes mean
- Personnel and contracts: County added a finance-clerk position and approved a six‑month contract for a court reporter to staff the new superior court judge’s courtroom; funds for that contract are budgeted and subject to accounting adjustments.
- Grants and funds: The VOCA victim-services grant will provide $96,505 to the solicitor general’s office with match waived; Project SOAP funds already received were authorized to be transferred to the Development Authority to support additional property acquisition related to the Robins AFB abatement zone.
- Roads and procurement: County approved the 2025 LMIG resurfacing candidate list and agreed to a multi‑jurisdiction MOA that combines LMIG projects for bidding with neighboring cities to seek efficiencies and lower contractor pricing.
No votes indicated dissent; all recorded motions in the public transcript were approved unanimously. Commissioners and staff spoke in favor of the items and described the technical or procedural basis for several approvals (for example, staff-prepared LMIG road list and final-audit budget adjustments administered under delegated authority).
