City Council Meeting 04.21.26

0:05 Call this order meeting to order. We have the invocation by Councilman Craig. Close in the pledge. >> Lord pray. Thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed upon our heavenly father together. We ask you allow us to make decisions for our even we ask for forgiveness. Now we ask these all the rest of your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. >> Amen to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it

0:52 stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Good evening and greetings to each of you. Thank you all for coming out tonight. Uh at this time, we're going to recognize any visitors or delegates. Uh as you approach the uh council meeting, there should have been some agendas out on the table. If you would have gotten one, please follow the instructions on public comment. And if at this time you would like to address the council, please raise your hand and I will

1:38 instruct you to come forward. Thank you. Mr. Lee, come forward, please. Please state your name, address, please.

2:26 That Where are we? He does have

3:36 I said, you know, Still wait.

4:24 See the

5:16 Thank you. Do we have anyone else from the audience that would like to speak? Come forward. Please state your name and address.

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10:44 Please state your name and address. Good evening, Mayor. >> To speak on an issue that continues to hurt Bamer's public safety. employee pay, broken promises, poor communication, and lack of leadership, responsiveness, and the inability to retain qualified employees. When I was employed by the agency about three years ago, I was shown an incentive raise chart for the fire department side, stating that if I completed certain training classes and certifications, I would receive an incentive pay raise. I

11:30 held up my end of the deal. I completed the required classes, invested my time, even used some personal vacation days to complete those courses because I was not allowed to attend the training on overtime pay. My vacation days were approved, so I sacrificed my own time to improve myself as an employee. But once the classes were completed, suddenly the raise structure that had been promised was no longer there, wasn't accurate. The incentive was gone. No raise was granted. That type of leadership destroys trust. Employees should not be told one thing to motivate them only to have the goalpost move later. That kind of management is exactly why good people continue to walk out the door and I was one of them. Another major issue is the complete lack of responsiveness from leadership. Officers have attempted to meet with leadership to discuss concerns, working conditions, staffing,

12:17 morale only to be ignored. Calls not returned, messages unanswered, communication efforts by employees were completely disregarded. I was one of the people that was disregarded before I left. When leadership refuses to listen to its own people, frustration grows and morale collapses. The leadership within the department has long struggled with communication and standing behind its employees. It appears that as long as upper management continues to make six figure salaries, the concerns that the frontline personnel, they don't matter. If a department is truly serious about recruitment and retention, leadership should know exactly what compensation they are offered and be prepared to discuss the benefits, incentives, and career growth. Instead, the confusion remains. I know several officers that were hired in recent years who were also promised local academy training. Then a week or two before it was time for them to go to academy right here in

13:03 Bangbridge, guess what? We're going to Forest South, guys. Sorry. Your family's just going to have to deal with it. That kind of lastm minute mismanagement places unnecessary stress on employees and their families. And once again, it's a false promise. The city of Bambridge has invested significant taxpayer dollars into facilities like the old John Johnson facility that they use for training. Yet to any public knowledge, I think there's been five or six policemies there. The fire training tower that we spent numerous amounts of money on has been used more by the SRT teams and other fire departments than for regular fire department here at Beamers public safety. One other question I have is the school zone cameras that have been in use for about two years now. The public deserves transparency regarding where the revenue is going, how much has been collected, and where those funds are being reinvested. Whether it's school

13:49 safety, traffic enforcement, or community needs. If residents are expected to pay these fines, then residents also deserve clear accountability for where the money goes, which preferably should go to Bamer's public safety frontline employees salaries and essential gear. So, I ask you this, council, why are trained employees leaving for departments within a 30-mi radius? Why are promises of incentive pay not honored? Why are officers ignored when they request meetings with leadership? Why are calls and communications from employees not returned? Why is recruitment so disorganized? Why are taxpayer funded training facilities not used? What we build them for? Where has the revenue from the school zone cameras gone for the last two years? And when will frontline employees become as important as administrative and salaries? If you

14:36 compare Bamer's pay and morale to surrounding agencies, the answer becomes clear. People will go where they are valued, respected, and compensated fairly. Bammers does not have a people problem. It has a leadership problem. Change is needed, and it starts with accountability, competitive wages, honest communication, financial transparency, and leadership that supports the men and women doing the actual work every day. Until then, the revolving door will continue. Thank you for your time, and I hope that we as a city see some hope for public safety very soon. If not, our city will fail and crime will rise. It's up to you now, council, but I sure hope you recognize there's a problem that needs to be handled.

15:22 >> Come forward, please. State your name and address. Scott Brenen, 342 Riverchase Drive. Good evening, Mayor Washington and members of the council. My name is Scott Brenson, and I stand before you here today to advocate for increased salary and pension benefits for Bainbridge public safety. Bambridge public safety officers s serve in a role unlike most municipalities. They are commissioned to act both as police officers and firefighters, responding not only to crime, but also to fires, medical emergencies, and life-threatening situations of every kind. Very few communities ask this much of their public safety personnel. One of we

16:09 are one of 10 in the whole United States that do both a dual role. And yet when we look at the numbers, we see a clear imbalance. According to GBI crime statistics in 2024, Bainbridge's crime total crime rate total is approximately 24.75 incidences per a thousand residences. significantly higher than the national average. Violent crime is also elevated, placing officers under constant demand of high-risisk environment. According to neighborhood.com based on early 2026 data reflecting 2025 trends, Bainbridge, Georgia has one of the highest crime rates in the US with roughly 36 crimes per thousand

16:55 residents, making the chance of being a victim of crop property or violent crime one in 28. Over 93% of Georgia communities have a lower crime rate. That's a 37% increase in one year. This correlation represents the significance of lack of public safety personnel in higher and higher crime. Now, let's talk about compensation, specifically hourly pay. The average Bambridge public safety officer earns about $23 an hour or roughly $47,000 annually. Entry level Bambridge public safety officers with dual police and fire certifications earn a starting salary of approximately 38,000 to $44,000 per year. This translate to roughly 18 to $21 per hour meanwhile the

17:45 average police officer across Georgia earns closer to $30 per hour with national averages even higher. That's puts Bainbridge Banebridge officers at a 25 to 30% pay gap compared to their peers. So we are asking officers to do more serve in dual role do dual roles operate in a high crime environment and yet we are paying them significantly less. This is not a substantial model but this conversation is just not about the fairness to our officers. It's about the future of Babbridge itself. There's a wellocumented connection between crime and commerce. Higher crime rates discourage business investment, reduce property values, and limit economic growth. Businesses are less

18:31 likely to open, expand, or remain in the area where safety is a concern. Customers are less likely to shop, dine, and spend money in areas where they do not feel secure. On the other hand, communities that invest in public safety often see the opposite effect. stronger local economies, increased b business development, and higher consumer confidence. In simple terms, when ba public safety improves, commerce follows. If Bambridge wants to grow, if we want to attract new business, support our local economy, increase our tax base, we must ensure that our city is safe first, and that our public safety professionals are properly supported. And that starts with competitive compensation. When salaries and pension

19:17 benefits fall behind, we face real consequences. Difficulty recruiting new officers, losing experienced ones to neighboring agencies, and placing increased strain on those who remain. Stronger pay and benefits are just not an expense. They're an investment. An investment in retention and performance, in public trust, the ultim and ultimately in the economic vitality of this city. I urge this council to make a meaningful action to re increase both salary and pension benefits for Bainbridge public safety. But if we expect our officers to do more, risk more, and carry more responsibility, then we must also be willing to invest more in them. And if we want a stronger economy, we must first build a safer community. Thank you for your time, your

20:04 leadership, and your commitment to the citizens of Bangbridge. State your name and address, please. Good evening. My name is Sean Schwarz. I live at 446 East Evans Street in Banebridge. I also own a property at 504 Hall. I am from New York and Pennsylvania. And I want to give you an idea because you have no clue what I have experienced in the last three years living here. When I first came to Banebridge and I'm standing in my driveway, drug deals were being done at the end of my driveway on Hall Street. I

20:50 took it upon myself to let them know if they want to do that, they can move down the road, but it's not going to happen at my place. I have had to install cameras in every corner of my home. I have had my house broken into twice. I have had a woman in 504 who turned out to be a felon with warrants for her arrest trying to break into the house there. I have locks on everything and I fear for my safety in this town. I just recently had a conversation on Facebook with a company. And I believe it's either the new hotel or somebody in town that wants to bring bicycles for their clients to be able to drive around and look at our pretty houses.

21:36 Every bicycle on my street on Evans, if you speak to anybody on that street, anything with wheels has been stolen. So I had a conversation with them and I said, you know, I don't think bicycles are a great idea because they're going to get stolen. There's got to be a way that if you're going to have a bicycle that you don't have it stolen. I have had methamphetamine people walking up and down the street on Evans Street consistently in the last three months. This is not a safe place to live. Now, on that note, we are now 70% higher than the US average for for crime. And yet, this is a little town and it's to me it's not a city. I pulled in I was like, "This isn't a city. This is a town." It's a beautiful town. It is a lovely

22:22 place to live, but if you don't understand what's going on on the streets and you hear these police officers speak, you don't connect the pieces. Sylvia, you yourself told me many years ago it was a lovely place to live. The kids played basketball in the streets. There was no problem. It was a great place to raise your children. Right now, I've had to call the police. Every week in 2021, I had to call the police for some reason or another. either it was something at my home, something that was happening at the apartments, or something that was happening down the street. I want you to know that these police officers are there in seconds. And that's the only reason I've stayed as long as I have, because they were there in seconds. I had an alarm go off in my home that was

23:10 an alarm for fire. And I'm walking out the door and I had two guys running in the house asking me if there was anybody else in there. no concern for their own safety. They were on it. They were ready to go in the house. When they entered my home, they took a gun, a heat gun, and looked around at every single wall because my home is one of the most historic homes in this town. It was here in 1875. It was built by the Belchure family. The Belchure family was the ones that had a merchant town. And if you can imagine my house on Evans Street, it says in the book of Baptist Church, there was nothing south of Shotwell and my home was there with 250 acres of land. My

23:56 house is worth preserving and these police officers have been wonderful to me. And the fire department was unbelievable. And I've had to call the fire department before in New York. I've had to call the police in New York. And these guys are topnotch. But when I'm told that you can make $15 an hour at Burger King, when Burger King was still here, and these guys aren't making that much, that's that's an equality that has to be fixed. And especially for people like me that live in the town that love this town, love you guys. I I look around, I see all of you that I know. I turn around, I'll see a whole bunch of people that I know. So, we really need to reconsider how we are handling our police force and our fire department so that we can continue to have growth and

24:44 improvement in this town. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening, Washington or Mayor Washington and members of the council. My name is Joy Burer and I live at 221 West Evan Street. I want you to know before I begin that we have only lived here for four years. Um, we had a wonderful gentleman lived to the south of us and had no issues within the last six months. We've had nothing but riff raff in and out of there. But our lovely

25:30 police officers cannot get to that residence most of the time because they're on other calls. That is a huge um security risk for us as citizens and I wanted to tell you about it. I've never been one to involve myself in politics. I used to think that lacked urgency. No adrenaline, no real emergency. Oh, how I was wrong. Because what I learned about the current state of public safety in Bane Banebridge is not just concerning. Quite honestly, it's unacceptable. Let me be direct. Our officers are required to serve as both law enforcement officers and certified firefighters, two of the most demanding, high-risk professions. Yet they are not compensated at a level that reflects

26:17 either role, let alone both. This is no longer standard practice. We are one of two departments in Georgia, one of 20 in the entire nation that will operate under this dual certification model. The result is predictable. We are losing officers s to surrounding agencies, including departments smaller than our own, because they offer better pay, clearer roles, and much stronger support. That is not speculation. That's cause and effect. We are also asking new recruits to make significant personal sacrifices, training away from their families under the expectation of local training and then failing to compensate them in a way that reflects what they

27:04 were told originally. That is not a staffing issue. That is a failure to follow through on commitments. And then there are operational decisions that raise serious concern. Recently, Camila requested K-9 assistance for a murder investigation that requested that request was denied not once but twice based on concerns about possible recruitment from Camila. Let that sink in. At the same time, surrounding agencies continue to assist us while that support is not being reciprocated. That sends a clear message, don't you think? And it's not a good one. Because

27:51 those relationships begin to erode, and trust me, they will. It is not leadership that pays the price. It is the citizens who depend on those partnerships in critical moments. There are also policy concerns. we have right now. What we have right now is a cat and mouse game where the outcome is clearly decided by who? The mice. Because without allowing shift supervisors this discretion to make realtime decisions, pursuits are terminated and the suspects know it. I've heard it from several people. So, the message becomes clear. Run, you will likely get away. The mice win and the crime what escalates

28:38 and the taxpayers are the ones who pay the price in safety. That concern should be with every single one of us. So we are left with a system where staffing is critically low. Expa expect expectations are exceptionally high. Compensation is not anywhere near competitive. Policy limits are affect policies limit effectiveness and leadership decisions are weakening both internal trust and external partnerships. And then the Banebridge residents who have no knowledge of what is actually happening with their hard-earned money begin to ask why, like I finally did two months ago. Retention is a problem, but perhaps most concerning is this. There appears

29:26 to be a very serious breakdown in communication and accountability at the leadership level when officers are willing to step forward at personal and professional risk to request a meeting and those requests are not only ignored but denied. Calls are not returned. Concerns are not acknowledged by the leader at the top. This is not a misunderstanding. This is a leadership failure. So the question before the councils are straightforward. Are we committed to retaining qualified officers or are we continuing to lose them? Are we willing to align compensation with expectations or continue asking for less? And are we satisfied with the current level of

30:13 leadership accountability or is it time to demand better and more dedicated? Because this is not abstract. the impact res response times the impacts co this impacts coverage and it impacts the safety of every citizen in this community. Why am I so angry? Because in 1992 I was raped in front of my eight-year-old or my eight-month-old daughter. That was in Michigan and it took the officers 57 minutes to get there. The last time I called the police here in Banebridge, they were here in 2.5. And yet our

31:02 And yet our crime is up by 70%. That is absolutely unacceptable. This is not about politics. This is about performance, responsibility, and public safety. And right now those standards are absolutely not being met. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Come forward, please. Afternoon

31:48 everybody. >> Good afternoon. >> Uh Gaston Corson 11:01 Morning Side Drive Georgia. Thank you all for letting me come up here and speak. It's good to see y'all again. Um just a brief summary. I'm not going to say much up here because I don't like to say things without having proper answers or exact truth of what I'm saying. I don't want to speculate too much. Um just a quick backstory of me started my police uh journey in 2018 with ALB Police Department. After two years I came here to Bainbridge so in 2022 and as of three weeks ago um I was investigator with Bbridge. I left three weeks ago for family reasons. Uh my wife has been working in Moltry for four years. So she's been driving back and forth and out each way and it's just been a lot of

32:33 strain on the family. Um a lot of financial strain and a lot of time strain. So, for example, my wife would get home at 7:30 at night. She would leave for work at six o'clock in the morning. So, didn't get to see families as much. However, I'll say during this family strain, there were some issues going on at the department that didn't make the change as hard. Now, most of the issues um at the department weren't so say one person's fault, but it was more of a just an issue carrying on over years, even even before I got there. Um, the main concern that I've noticed is when I left Albony Police Department, I was very busy. I was handling 50, 60 calls a day by myself, multiple reports. I came here was a breath of fresh air. People actually like police here. Um, smile,

33:19 shake your hand, try to pay for your food, all that good stuff. And it was a lot slower, a lot a lot simpler. Um, but as my career advanced here, I noticed that it started getting closer to Albany. started seeing some old things in multiple shootings in in a couple days, multiple dead bodies in a few days. Unfortunately, some old memories of all that came up of, oh, this is something going on here. Um, I do think that's probably due to a staffing issue. Um, from my understanding while I was working at public safety is public safety had the same staffing numbers in the 80s as they do now. So, there's no large increase of positions at the department like there should be. Um, crime never goes down. It It's always going up. We'll never be able to curtail it. We'll never be able to stop it completely. It's always going to rise.

34:06 Um, now leaving public safety and going to my new job, I've noticed that public safety is also behind in um um tools and technology that law enforcement really, really need. Uh, one tool, it's a very small tool, is flock safety cameras. I understand there's some people in the back that don't like flock cameras. Um, they're amazing. My new department has over 40 of them. And like for example, this morning there was gunshot detectors. I get a text message, hey, gunshots at this area. When I was on the way here, hey, stolen vehicle at this camera. So, they're really, really good pieces of um pieces of equipment that aid in law enforcement. Now, sure things could be used wrongfully, but there's audit trails and all that, so there's nothing really to worry about. Um, another thing is live feed cameras. They have live feed cameras everywhere.

34:52 And again, it's the same thing. It doesn't seem like a big tool, but instead of me as an investigator going to 40 people's houses and bothering them while they're at work, I can just log into some cameras and check intersections and check all these things and leave the police interaction out of it instead of, you know, bothering people, having them come home from work and ruin their day because they have to log into their camera footage for or worst case, they don't know the login at all or the cameras don't work. So, those are just small things they have that are in place that make the job a lot easier. Um, now public safety as a whole. I understand that the public safety motto of police and fire is pretty rare. It is very rare working here or have working here. Um, I'll say that I really enjoyed it. Police and fire is a crazy thing to comprehend, but it's amazing thing. It's fun. I didn't think I'd like it when I

35:39 got hired here. It was an agreement that, hey, if I get hired here, I have to go to the fire academy. And I agree to. I I enjoy training. I enjoy getting extra certifications. I didn't think I'd like it, but I came to love it. Um, I love firefighting and actually I'm keeping up my certification where I'm at now and doing volunteer work. That being said, it's very, very dangerous. And not because being a firefighter is dangerous, it is, but doing both at the same time is dangerous. And prime example, um, or an example would be is if there's a houseire in one neighborhood in town and then there's a robbery across the other end of town. Well, a whole shift of public safety is six or seven people if they're fully staffed, including your firefighters and supervisors. Well, they're on side of a house fire. Maybe

36:24 the county can get to the robbery. But if we can't, we have to come out of a fire sweating, dying of heat, have to put our stuff back on, try not to have a heart attack, and drive across town 100 miles an hour to try to get to this other crazy thing happening. By the time we get there, it's always late. Like, police can never be anywhere where they're supposed to be. um except when they pull you over. But but it's just one of those hard things where you're never going to win the battle. But if if public safety is the option here of keeping police and fire together, then you need a lot more officers um and a lot more pay because getting getting a police officer nowadays is it was a lot easier when I was going through it because it's it was amazing. But now with you know police are the bad guys and it's all over social media and

37:10 everything's pouring way out of proportion. And there's always these rightwing these these conspiracy theorists that police are out to get everybody. No one wants to be police anymore. Or they're being threatened of being sued or they're getting shot at for no reason. No one wants to do it anymore. Well, then when they come here, it's oh, by the way, you need to have a firefighter certification, too. Like, I don't want to I'm not fighting fire. And then vice versa. You got these people that want to be firefighters. They grow up that always want to be firefighters. And they get there and go, "Hey, we got to be a police officer, too." They're like, "No way. I'm not doing that." And case in point, I've tried to recruit police officers that I know from other departments. Hey, come over to public safety. It's great. Low crime rate, comparative some places. I always compare to Auburn because Auby's the worst. You can never, you know, go worse than Albany. But lower crime rate. Come over here and they're like, "No,

37:56 I'm not doing fire. There's no way. Can't blame them." Um, it is a lot of training. And coming here, I was already certified police, so my training was a lot quicker. I only had to go to foresight for eight weeks. But if we hire someone today who has no training, police academy is six months long and it's never like you graduate the police academy and the next day you start the fire academy. It's always a limbo somewhere. There's always two or three months off or two or three months before the academy starts. So, by the time you get someone trained, police and fire through their field training program, which is three months long, you're looking at like a year at least, a year and four months, a year and a half before they can finally start answering calls by themselves and add to the to the roster of officers.

38:43 Um, there's a bunch of things that that need to change around here. If if it's not staffing, then it's pay, then it's pension. it. None of it's going to be cheap. None of it none of it ever is. Unfortunately, with public safety or anything, police or fire, it's never cheap. Um, but it is it is nec This is requirement. It's necessary. I just hope that y'all do what you can do. Keep some people here. >> Thank y'all. >> Good evening. My name is Charie Walker. I live at 404 Griffin Street here in Bangbridge. I didn't come with a prepared speech or anything like that. Um what I came to do is ask the council

39:31 to revisit um codes um the ordinance code of 2.27, the city manager's compensation appointments and qualifications. Um our city manager has gotten very comfortable. you know, um, right now he feels as though, and I'm and don't take it personal, um, when you've been in a position so long and you've done what you've kind of wanted to do for so long, um, you kind of get complacent. You don't want to hear what others have to say. And right now, if our police department is short of staff, the pay isn't where it needs to be to maintain recruitment, and you're not willing to listen and you're not willing to do anything about it, you have a

40:16 problem. Anybody that can earn $195,000 of taxpayers money and not be willing to take care of their other employees, that's a problem. Now in that code it says that the city manager is appointed by the council for an indefinite term and the city council shall affect that person's compensation. So that tells me that you guys voted to have him pay $195,000 unless he gave it to himself.

41:01 And if he did, that's definitely a problem. So what I'm asking you to do today is to go back, revisit that particular ordinance and look at the qualifications of our city manager and let's get someone that's very wellqualified, not someone that just has a criminal justice degree. >> Thank you. Evening. My name is Tori Green. I live at 1313 Lake Drive. My item is not on

41:47 the agenda um at all. But with the upcoming election, um early voting starting on April 27th and SPLS being one of the things that are on the ballot, I thought this would be the perfect time to bring it back before the council. I recently reached out to you guys via email. Um I got one response back um but I just wanted to bring it back forth. So I'm hereby respectfully to request your your consideration and prioritizing much needed improvements in our West Bish community park and the adjacent retention pond. These spaces have the potential to be valuable assets to our community, but in their current condition, they fall short of serving our residents in meaningful way. Our parks should be a place where families feel comfortable gathering, where children can play safely, and where the community can come together with a sense

42:33 of pride. At this time, the playground equipment is limited, and it does not adequately meet the needs of the families it is meant to serve. Upgrading to modern, safe, and engaging equipment will make a significant difference in how this space is used and valued. The condition of the retention pond is another issue that deserves attention. With proper maintenance and upkeep or cleanup, it could shift from being an eyesore to a feature that complements the part rather than one that detracts from it. Addressing this concern would improve both the appearance and the environmental health of the area. I want I also want to emphasize that this is not the first time that I have requested improvements to this park. Um again I emailed you guys but I've also recently um previously spoken with a few of the

43:19 council members. Mr. Craig Co was there. Wen Hummer was there. It's been a little while ago. Pete Stevens was there. Um I think we had Don Way on the phone. Um at that time I received the response in essence that no action pretty much was taken. It was mentioned that one would look into whether an equipment could be refurbished and brought over. However, nothing further came of that discussion. I share this not to assign blame but to highlight that this concern has been ongoing and remains unsolved. Trash parked just in unsafe conditions. Um even had issues with the retention pond. kids were getting actually inside of the retention pond. Um, with this renewed interest in asking citizens to support and renew SPLS, this presents an appropriate and timely opportunity to

44:05 revisit this request. SPLAS funds are specifically intended for community infrastructures and quality of life improvements and this project aligns directly with those goals. Allocating SPLAS resources towards upgraded playground equipment, improved lighting, and restoration of the retention pond would be a meaningful investment in our community and demonstrate a clear commitment to its residents. I've also reached out in regards to SPLAS, how those funds were going to be spent, what projects um from SPL 7 had been completed that that was moving forward, what projects was intended for splass 8 coming up since you guys are wanting us to renew that splass. got vague answers from Mr. um Oliver. Um not really much. You guys want our tax

44:52 dollars, but you don't really want to tell us what you're doing with our tax dollars. This is more than a request for upgrades. It is a request for equity and thoughtful investments in a community that deserves a park it can truly call its own. I respectfully ask that you give this request your serious consideration and take steps necessary to make these improvements a reality. I look forward to seeing a positive progress uh for our community. Hopefully, some of the splice funds can go towards our community. We don't have the biggest park. We don't have the biggest area uh for a park to actually be. But there could be some improvements. There can be some improvements to the equipment. There can be some improvements to that retention pond. The retention pond looks a miss. The boards that are in there, everything is bust bursting out. The gate has been torn down at one point. The community

45:38 needs some assistance. some you kind of shed some light over there and see if we can get something over there for the children in that community. They're in the roads. They're riding the bicycles in the roads. Rather see them at the park than out there doing that in the roads. Riding bicycles up and down from rivers apartments down to the end of Lake Drive and back and forth. So I hopefully we can get on that list of projects for the upcoming SPLS 8 funds and you guys can put some of that effort into our community over in West Bbridge. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else? Before we close the public participation

46:24 hearing from no one else, do I have a motion to close the public participation? >> Okay. Okay. At this time, >> approval minutes. I apologize. May I have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Actually, I need to make a correction. The minutes reflect that I voted on an intergovernmental agreement. I actually abstained from voting on that. >> The intergovernmental agreement with the county

47:15 Thank you. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> Any opposes? Motion carries. Next agenda item is U office for public safety. Mr. ML here. Okay. Will you come forward please?

48:38 I will >> that I will >> and truly serve >> the city of Bangbridge >> city of Bbridge >> state of Georgia >> and the United of the United States >> of America >> as a public safety officer >> without favor >> or affection >> or malice >> or ill will >> and >> I am qualified >> under the laws of the city of Bbridge >> the state of Georgia >> state of Georgia >> and the United States of America >> to hold the position >> of city of Bbridge >> city of Public safety officer, >> public safety officer. >> And I am >> not the holder >> of an unaccounted

49:24 >> of unaccounted >> for public money >> or public money >> to the state >> or any political >> subdivision >> or authority >> thereof >> thereof. >> And I will >> and I will >> see >> cause the peace >> to be kept >> and preserved >> and preserved. >> And I will >> and I will >> prevent the the best >> of my power >> of all offenses >> against that peace >> and I will >> never commit >> personal feelings >> prejudices >> of friendship >> to influence >> my official decision >> and I will maintain >> public trust

50:10 >> and while >> I continue as a public safety officer >> I will I will >> to the best of my skill >> and knowledge >> discharge >> all the duties >> thereof >> faithfully >> and according >> to the laws >> of the city of B >> the state of Georgia >> and the United States >> of America >> of America. >> So help me God.

51:31 We have Richard Lane. employee of the quarter express our sincere appreciation to Richard Lane and grateful recognition of your outstanding performance productivity and dedicated service and present this award from the city of Bbridge this 21st day of April 2026 Congratulations.

53:14 We have a resolution recognizing Georgia C's week. Love your city, April 20th, 25, 2026. Whereas city government is the level of government closest to the people, providing essential services and having the most direct daily impact on its citizens. And whereas city government is administered for and by its citizens and relies upon the active engagement, understanding and support of public. And whereas the officials and employees of the city of Bangbridge are committed to providing quality public service and to foster a strong sense of community. And whereas Georgia City's week provides an opportunity to recognize the vital role

54:01 of municipal government and to educate citizens about how their local government operates. And whereas this week offers an important opportunity to highlight the ways in which citizens can shape and influence their community through civic involvement. And whereas Georgia Municipal Association and its member cities including the city of Bambridge have joined together to promote awareness of municipal government through various activities and education initiatives. And whereas Georgia C's week serve as a time to celebrate the unique character of our city and to encourage community pride under the theme love your city. Now therefore be it resolved that the mayor

54:46 and city council of the city of Bainbridge hereby proclaim April 2026 as Georgia city's week in the city of Bainbridge. Be it further resolved that all citizens, city officials, and employees are encouraged to participate in activities that's recognized and celebrate the importance of local government and to continue working together to strengthen our community. Passed and adopted by the mayor and city council of the city of Bainbridge, Georgia this 21st day of April, 2026. Thank you. >> Do you need a motion to approve that resolution? Yes. Do I have a motion to approve the resolution? >> I'll second.

55:34 >> Uh, are there any discussions? No discussion. All in favor? I >> I oppos. No oppos. Resolution pass. Um, yes, ma'am. Um, first of all, sorry to our prek through second graders. Thank you for being so patient with us. Um, last week our local schools participated in Georgia C's week coloring contest, prek through 2nd grade. Um, I'll just say they made it

56:20 very hard on me. We had so many great submissions as you can see all over city hall as well where well well as the downtown development office in the downtown station. Um somehow I did narrow it down to a winner from each grade. And at this time I would like to invite those te those students along with their families and teachers to come down to be recognized by the mayor and city council and take a quick photo for us. Um so you can come down when I call your name. Um Riley Dollar from Mrs. Mills prek class at Jones Primary. Lena Life from Miss Lau's class kindergarten class at West Bainbridge Primary. Braxton Meyers from Mrs. W's first grade

57:05 class at Jones Week Primary. And Rosalyn Sarmto from Miss Avery's second grade class at West Bainbridge Primary. Let's do it.

57:53 This is Congratulations.

58:57 That's what it's all about, right? >> Come on, man. art contest winners. >> Sorry, we forgot a prize.

59:50 screen time and at this time we have a community economic development by Dr. I mean director Steve O'Neal. >> Thank you. That was funny. I needed that. >> I was speaking in existence. >> Uh what you have before you is an amendment to our current uh flood flood prevention flood damage prevention ordinance. This is an ordinance that um

1:00:37 FEMA requires us to have if we want to have flood insurance in our community and participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. Uh the current ordinance that you see in our code of ordinances was adopted in 2009. That same time FEMA redid the flood maps. Now they've redone them again. They've been working on them for a couple of years now and they're at that point where they become effective July 7th. So we need to go ahead um and consider adopting an amendment to the flood plane ordinance, the flood damage prevention ordinance in order to in good graces of the national flood insurance program. Uh what we will do is have this is just an introduction. Um copies will be available at city hall. Hard copies of the flood maps are in my office. And if anybody would like to see the actual digital version of the

1:01:23 flood maps, you go to georgiafirm.com and type in your address. Wonderful. >> I have a quick question for you. >> Sure. >> Does this amendment change anybody's flood zone assignments? >> This amendment does not. The flood maps may or may not. >> Okay. >> They use a different They use our technology make it kind of hyper accurate much better than the technology used in 2009. >> Okay. Great. We don't >> we do not. >> Any other questions? Thank you, Dr. O'Neal. >> At this time,

1:02:10 >> uh, we have consideration for alcohol beverage license. Mr. Oliver. >> Yes, ma'am. We are in receipt of one alcoholic beverage license application. Applic Andrew Kelly, owner of Smooth Brewing Company located at 409 North Broad Street, has applied for distilled spirits consumption license. We have the application. Everything is in order, and we recommend approval. >> I'll be abstaining from this vote. >> Okay. >> Do we have a motion? >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposes? Motion carries.

1:02:56 >> We have a consideration for uh park use application. Mr. Oliver. >> Yes. We have a special park use application for the use of the Carson Hatcher Park Pavilion and Grounds. Applicants Norris Akins and James Lodman are proposing to hold the annual Black Men United Family and Friends Day on Memorial Day weekend. This year's event will be held Sunday, May 24th, 2026 from 7:00 am to 7 pm. Um, application requirements have been met. The CVB recommends approval. And Mr. Aikens is here, I think, for questions if you have any. >> Uh, motion. I have a motion. >> We approve the request.

1:03:42 >> Second. Any discussion? Mr. Akens is here. Do y'all need to ask him any questions? >> All in favor? I. >> I. >> Any opposes? Motion carries. >> We have bill. Mr. Oliver, >> we have one bill before you this evening. This is our annual uh Germa insurance renewal. Uh this is for the 2026 2027 coverage period effective May 1st 2026. The city's total annual contribution is $596,458 after credits. This will uh continue to cover our standard liability risk

1:04:27 management and our properties including buildings and content. Motion I move that we pay the bill. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? I >> I >> and oppose. Motion carried. The next item on the agenda is council retreat. Um, originally I had asked to have the retreat in Bangbridge because this was my first year as the

1:05:13 city and I thought it was more feasible to stay here, have the retreat and spend the money local. Um, so I'm here to see what the council would like to do at this time. I have a question as a newbie. What takes place at these retreats? >> A lot. It's a planning meeting. >> We meet for what? >> Eight hours one day, >> five or six hours the next day. Um we have dinner dinner together in the evening and then we come back. But

1:06:00 during those many hours of meetings, we discuss the city's plan for the upcoming year. We discuss issues like have been brought up tonight. We discuss things that will be worked into the budget for the coming year. So there's a lot of we we discuss long range planning that we really don't have the opportunity to discuss in a in a monthly council meeting um and how those things might be progressing over many many of them take a long time to implement. Um so there's a there's a lot of planning and interaction and discussion on some really hard issues um during during that time. >> So Is there like a reason we can't do it

1:06:47 locally that it has to be done out of town? >> Keeping the attention. Everybody stays when it's there. It's easy to leave and I know our first retreat that we ever had was at Bagby State Park and that was close enough that we lost a couple of people during the during the session. They went and did some business back here and came. It's real easy to get a phone call and say, "I've got to slip away and I'll be back." When you're away, you make that wait. I mean, unless it's an emergency at home, you make that weight. And it's the cohesiveness

1:07:33 of everybody being there together. you don't have that opportunity to work it to work through those uh team building and and um consensus building when people are pulled away for work and family issues and if you're local those things happen. Our company has done planning meetings over the years and inevitably if we have them local people get pulled away if for no other reason they feel obligated to go by the office and >> take care of something. Um they may not be required to be there but they feel obligated to do that. If they're out of town they don't feel that obligation. And it gives us an opportunity to learn

1:08:19 how to work as a team. Mayor Washington is new to her role. you're new to your role. It's an opportunity for all of us to work together for the betterment of this city. It is it is one of the if not the most important thing we do as city council members. >> We also Marquita kind of get the direction of where we want to go next year before the employees have their budget planning retreat. we go ahead of them and then um it kind of gives them direction of where the budget is going. It's all it's really the start of the budget process because you start saying, you know, this is what we kind of want to do now. We

1:09:05 can't do this this year. It's going to have to wait. 2006, I think it was at the retreat is where the idea for the river came about. had we not been sitting together and brainstorming ideas because there's a part of that that we give our our input heavily of what we want to see and connectivity to the river came up. By 2008 there was a master plan and then of course the economy bottomed out and it got put aside for a while but that's where the river project started was just someone addressing it at the retreat and saying we need to take advantage of the river and we need to work toward that and now

1:09:53 here we are with that finally it took a long time to get to where we finally cut the ribbon at Chason Park and all the river walk and everything else. >> My biggest thing was getting caught up on projects because when you're late, you're never brought in on the the beginning of the genesis of a project. You're always either on the tail end of one or right in the middle. So it's kind of All right. What what happened before I got in office? You know, where do we pick it up now? How do we finish it out? >> How do we pass it on? >> Yeah. Sometimes you learn the why behind the what. >> That's right. >> And all of you believe that it's cost effective what we're doing.

1:10:41 >> Without a doubt. far more valable. >> Is it on? >> Okay. This this is the email that was sent to Mr. Roy Oliver, our city manager from our um mayor, mayor Washington, and it states that I'm sending this email to strongly express my decision to council to cancel the retreat currently as you're aware of the challenges and the salary issue with public safety and salary disparity within the city department. I'm aware funding is already been allocated for the retreat. However,

1:11:27 perception is very critical. Spending taxpayer dollars on a retreat during a time when we're all we are losing officers does not send a positive image to the public. To mention a study, you mentioned a study was being done on salaries overall. I believe you stated the study will not be completed until August. Our officers are facing high turnover. Reallocating some of these funds earmarks for the retreat shows a commitment to our workforce, public safety in the community. We need our police, fire, and sanitation workers. Thanks in advance, Mayor Washington. and my response into the retreat and then

1:12:15 the police and and I I am dearly saddened that some of those officers left and then get an opportunity to hear the discussion that is here that was set forth for them as well. But maybe someone will reach out to those officers. I want to take you all back to September um September the 16th of 2025 on our council meeting. We were discussing the millage rate increase which would include a 3% cost of living increase for the city employees would also include pay for those city officers. And I want to stand before I continue to say to every officer that is left in here, we hear you. And I think every officer that

1:13:01 knows me know that I support law enforcement 100%. I have a older brother that are law enforcement and in law enforcement. And ever since he decided to do that, my daily prayer is that he come home alive until Mrs. um Badwell that has left. I know she's gone. I didn't know her, but I knew her husband. And my heart still goes out to her. And I and every person that's on this council, I can assure you, have the utmost respect for our law enforcement officer. And I myself had that same respect. And also being a part of law enforcement for over 12 and a half years serving as a deputy count deputy or corner in early county. I experienced loss. I experienced the danger and work

1:13:46 coincide with law enforcement officer. So I feel your pain. And I think if you look at my p track track record in regards to decisions that has been made or been asked of our council in my tenure as a council member, I have supported law enforcement officers 100%. And when I see a law enforcement officer at any time if I have an opportunity to pay it forward, I pay for a lunch. I give encouraging words and I also encourage them to stay stay in and hanging and we're doing our best to try to get you where we needs to be. And I understand it is difficult and that is true. But I do want to take you back to that meeting. I want to say that to you all. I appreciate you officer 100% and I think our council feel the same way. But on that meeting of September the 20

1:14:32 September the 16th of 2025 our council meeting it was discussion about that millage rate increase which would be a tax increase and also a cost of living was in included into that for a 3% raise for the city employees which included law enforcement officers and I think since then we've given somewhat of another raise and we're discussing as it said in that email about a study to try to get the pay back up to a level where we could continue to retain these officers. So I assure you that nothing we're not just sitting like a knot and try to make something happen. But this is the part that's important to me. There was a discussion about this and there was a big crowd of people as it is here. And there were several people that spoke in regards to oppose of this

1:15:17 millage rate which would have given you officers pay. And I see some of those people that is in this room today. One is Mr. Tory Green. One is our council member current now Marquita Johnson, Charlene Walker, Sabrina Calhoun, and Miss Kimberly Smith who all spoke in opposition of you all getting raises. And then we did the vote. Our very own council member who is now our current mayor vote in oppose of that raise as well. But what I say to you all today, I want to know what happened and transpired seven months ago up until now and why the decision is now that you want to push for raises and you couldn't push for them then. And my thing is in in this line of work with what we do there are some difficult decision that has to be made and those decision

1:16:04 depends upon you being a leader and standing in the gap and sometime you will stand on the island of by myself when you follow the truth and I don't mind standing on the islander by myself when I follow the truth is the reason why because I had so many of my constituents gave me phone calls and asked me not to vote in favor of that cost of living increase and also not in favor of that millage rate because they was concerned about the tax increase. I have property here in the city of Bangbridge and I pay a lot of money on it and it was going to affect me too. But you know what was important to me? These officers getting money and getting better pay. Now hypocriticism is a thing that a lot of people do have and hypocrisy is also involved in every area

1:16:50 of politics. But I don't play politics. I tell people I'm not a politician. And I'm a public servant because I serve the people. And granted, I'm not perfect, but at the end of the day, when I lay down and go to sleep, I pray that I have done right by my fellow man. So, I say to the opposition of those people that are here in regards to this mayor's retreat, I asked the question, we have a we have a convention that's coming up in June. The mayor's retreat was scheduled for May. Now, the ask was to cancel this mayor's retreat, but I want to give you an outlook between the mayor's retreat and this convention. The mayor's retreat retreat we understand cost about $13,000 give or take to have that mayor's retreat done. This convention, this

1:17:36 convention on the low end could cost about $26,500. That's very important. I want to y'all to know that everybody in this room stand up and tell me what's more important. The mayor's retreat that give us an opportunity to do strateg strategic planning and also to revisit this thing that's going on with our officers that is going on today to try to get them to where they need to be. and not only our officer but those public workers that I see pass by my business that pass by my home and sweat profusively to make sure this city look good. This retreat is for that. Tell me what's important, the convention or the retreat. I get I get it 100%. Each one

1:18:23 of those are taxpayers dollars, but one benefits more than the other. And I think our mayor's retreat is pivotal and important. And here's another reason why we have a new mayor and her vision for where she want this city to go has not been discussed. It had been given to any of us and I want to see that vision and I want to know what it is because we as a council want her to look good. It's very important. We have a new council member. I want to know her vision, her purpose. We want her to look good. That's the purpose of the retreat. And to anybody who thinks that this this retreat, the World Retreat is for fun, is not for fun. We don't even have an opportunity to have fun. We there back

1:19:10 in town. And and and I get the opposition about and around it. But I want to say to the people that are here, this retreat is vital. And when we talk about transparency and things that goes on, there's a lot of transparency and stuff that does not be is not mentioned. I found out on yesterday. And I'm not doing this to call people out, but I'm doing this because I want folks to know that the picture that's being painted sometime is not what the portrait should be. You know, uh I I have a question in regards to relates to this as well. Cell phones. I have my personal cell phone. When you call me, you get me on my personal cell phone. And every council member have their personal cell phone. But then I found out that there are two members of our council that has cell

1:19:56 phone that are paid by the city and it was requested and the city pays it and it's on the city's bill. Mine is paid by myself and I think the rest of the council members are paid by themsel. Let me um let me let me uh >> and and my thing is my my thing is when I'm saying this is to say that we are dedicated to try to make a difference. >> And granted, we don't get anything right. We don't get anything. We're not perfect. But at the end of the day, these officers, I feel your pain. And I've spoke with several of our council members. I even spoke with several of the officers one on one. And I've asked them, if you just just hang in there and we get you to where you need to be, and we we'll do our best to do it. And

1:20:43 several of those officers have told me, we'll do our best. And some of them have said, "Hey, man, we thank you and I appreciate you for doing that." And I granted, some of them didn't come here because they may feel the fact that, hey, my job is on the line. And I get it. I get it. I get it 100%. But I assure you officers that we are making a difference and we trying to do the best and do right by you all. >> All right. Um I do want to say something for the record. I said I was against the military. I never said I was against the cost of living increase. I was actually for that. I said that here and I said that on my Facebook page. I said let's find creative ways to pay our officers more and our workers more without raising our citizens taxes. That's exactly what I said.

1:21:29 Wait a minute. Let me finish because I didn't interrupt anyone here when they were speaking. So, I'm going to require the same respect. >> All right. Now, we can sit up here and say that we're for the officers, but since we want to read emails, let's read your email because when I ask to bring this to the agenda, to put it on the agenda to discuss our officers, because number one, it gives us the ability to make sure that misinformation is not getting out there. Number two, it gives us the ability control the conversation. And number three, it lets us hear the citizens because it is on the agenda. And you said Craig, hello to Mayor Washington and to all my fellow council members. In my opinion, I feel the discussion should not be put on the council meeting agenda. I think as a council and mayor, we should be careful

1:22:16 when putting things on the agenda for discussion when we cannot do it and the public has their opinions expressed on it and are looking for answers that we cannot give at the time. It doesn't matter if we have answers that they cannot give. We need to hear them. They just they need to be heard. If they are telling us there is a problem, our eyes cannot be everywhere. If our citizens are coming to us and telling us the problem is not one, it's not two, it's not five, it's not 10, but it's 30, 40, 50, 100, 200. They're expressing these issues and we sit up here and say that that's not important enough to go on our agenda. We need to take a look at ourselves because we can sit up here and say we've never done this before. And maybe that's the issue because doing the same thing over and over again is the very definition of insanity. We have got to do something different. We have got

1:23:03 to learn to work together. Every city employee that I've ever had to work with, even Roy will tell you, I am willing to work with anybody. You don't I don't have to agree with you. I don't even have to like you. But I care enough about this city. I care enough about this town to be willing to put my ego aside what I think is best and listen to what people have to say because it's not just me. It's not just us. It is all of us. Even regarding not just the people in this room, it is an entire town of people and everyone every taxpayer deserves to be heard whether we agree with them or not. >> And >> let me say let me say this. Can I can I respond >> back to the September meeting, Craig, that you referred to, I did not agree for the increase. I did not agree for

1:23:50 the clause because there are elderly people and I put myself in those individual places and they if I if that was my mother or my grandmother, they could not afford to pay those increase in taxes. So, yes, I voted against that. But there's other ways that the city could compensate these officers pay. We we spend a lot of money in Decada County, the city of Bangbridge. So looking at the retreat, I never said we couldn't do the retreat. I asked that the retreat be here for number one, it saved the money. I didn't say we could have the retreat. Two, we have a brand new hotel supposed to be opening soon. We could have easily went there and did a retreat. We could have

1:24:38 went to Susie Sam and ate together. >> We could have went to Smooth and ate there for lunch. I never said we couldn't have the the the uh the retreat. >> And secondly, as far as the cell phone, I request a cell phone. I'm the mayor. I should have a cell phone. >> I don't need to tie my phone up. >> And >> and I requested one as well because my board told me they were not going to pay for me to conduct city business. and my p my in and in in in regards to that and then I want to I I want to reiterate on Mrs. uh Johnson response >> Mrs. Harris. >> My apologies, Miss Harris. I want to Miss Miss Harris, I will respond to your respondent in regard to that email. If you check that email, that email wasn't in regards to the mayor's retreat. It

1:25:24 was in regards to it was it was in regards to it was it was in it was in regards to the discussion about the Rick authority. What it was, >> he says the compensation of the officers on the April agenda. This is not about the record. if you look at it because I never responded to the email in regards to it. If you if you look at it and but anyway to go back to to what we're what I'm saying is is at the end of the day, you know, these things are being discussed and said now in the public forum and our meeting and everything, but what I want to ask is have it ever been discussed to us other than now? >> We're not supposed to discuss it among ourselves. You're supposed to discuss it in public. >> We we discuss it. We we so we going to discuss it in public right now. And my

1:26:11 thing is we need to know as a council where is the vision or what is the vision in regards to our new mayor. >> You know and I know what my vision you didn't go to any of my >> listen my messages. >> No you your messages did not explain any vision to our city. Your messages was emails to things of what was need to be put on the >> it was not when you talk about a vision and strategic planning and and and I I don't want to make this a going back uh session, but it look like this is what it's going to be. But at the end of the day, these these things that we need to

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