HAMILTON— During its Monday, Aug. 4, meeting, members of the Hamilton City Council heard an overview of the city’s 2024 municipal audit from Aimee Gilliland of the Riggs Accounting Firm, who was present with LeeAnn Jones.
Some of the highlights for the city included:
• An increase of $131,000 in revenue due to sales, property and utility taxes.
• Debt for the city continues to be paid down, with bond payment amounts going down as the debt decreases. (General obligation bonds were noted as being from the years of 2015, 2017 and 2019.)
• There was an increase in expenses and a decrease in reserves related to capital improvements, such as the new sportsplex and contributing toward the cost of the new jail.
Gilliland noted that, even with some reserves spent for capital projects, “the city is still in good standing” because of the increase in revenues and the remaining reserves.
Compared to the previous year, she noted, “The city is in better shape.”
She provided a separate report on the Hamilton Water Department.
Highlights for the water department included:
• The city had transferred $541,000 in funds to the water department to help with expenses and equipment.
• The water department had a decrease in income related to the credits provided to customers during the water outage in 2024.
• An additional expense was noted as being due to the increased cost of chemicals used to treat the water.
Gilliland did mention the water department would have “had a positive increase” in revenue without the issue of the discounts.
“Because the water outage and the city having to provide support for the previous year, it is not in a better position from the prior year,” she said. “You did have a lot of challenges in the water department that year.”
At the conclusion of the audit, Hamilton Mayor Bob Page made a few remarks, noting, “Concerning our general obligation bonds (totalling $9,525,443 as of Aug. 4), since I’ve been sitting in this seat, there’s been a reduction of almost $6 million total on our city’s bond debt.
“Plus, we paid off the water treatment plant, and we haven’t borrowed any money or gone into debt for anything we bought since I’ve been the mayor these nine years. We haven’t been to the bank to finance anything.
“So, the track has been very expensive, but it’s a good addition to our city. We’re putting the finishing touches on that, and we’ll soon be finished with expenses involving the track. And then we’ll have it there for many years of enjoyment.
“Sometimes, if you want nice things, you have to spend some money to have them. We’ve gotten some very, very nice things done.”
Regarding other expenses for the city during his tenure, the mayor continued, “We’ve gotten new equipment for our guys to work with throughout the years. It’s been a real asset to them, and they’ll tell you so. They’ve got better things to work with.
“Of course, we got caught in the COVID period. A lot of contracts were let at the COVID time when prices were going up tremendously fast.
“All in all, I think we’ve had a good run here. I’m going to say bravo to these guys who have been your city government the last five years. A lot has been accomplished. I’m very proud of it.”
The mayor said he appreciated the Riggs Accounting Firm coming in each year and doing such a great job with the city’s audit.
Councilor Wade Williams said he appreciated Amy and LeeAnn, as well as all of the ladies who work at city hall.
“They do a great job,” he said. “And so do the mayor and council who have been trying to watch our expenses and our pennies. We’ve always had clean audits, even back when I was in, and some cities can’t say that.”
Gilliland noted that anything her accounting firm had recommended, the city had done.
“Good clean audits are a plus for the community, and we always have a good one,” Williams concluded.
The mayor noted city councils should be careful of what they obligate the city for in the future.
“Like I said, with the management of these people (council), we have avoided having to finance anything. We’ve paid cash for everything we’ve done. It’s depleted some of our reserves, but I’m still real proud of the things we’ve done and what’s been given to this community because of the council right here.
“Our revenue numbers look really good, and that’s what’s kept us moving forward--tax revenues, occupational tax benefits--those types of things have kept us moving in the right direction.”
After hearing the review, the council approved the audit for the fiscal year 10-1-2023 through 9-30-2024, as presented.
In other business on Aug. 4, the council:
• Approved a recommendation to pass Resolution 2025-8-4 to adopt the City of Hamilton’s Transportation Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2025/2026. The mayor explained adopting the resolution will maintain the city’s compliance for funds received from the Rebuild Alabama Act passed in 2019, which levied additional excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. The city is expected to collect an
estimated $70,000 during the upcoming fiscal year. These funds may only be used for the maintenance of roads and bridges.
• Approved a recommendation to award the paving of various streets throughout the city to S.T. Bunn for the lowest bid price of $165,725. The paving projects include an 840 linear foot section of First Street South East, a 685 linear foot section of Second Avenue South East, a 660 linear foot section of Third Avenue South East, a 1,270 linear foot section of Fifth Avenue South East, and a 1,425 linear foot section of Sasser Drive, along with a 3,020 foot parking pad area. Funds from the Rebuild Alabama Account will be used to pay for this project.
• Approved a recommendation to allow city clerk Angela Owen to open a new checking account at First National Bank for the Growing Alabama I-22 Industrial Park Project. Funds of $1,467,000 have been awarded to the city for the preparation of two industrial sites for spec pads in the Fulton Bridge area.
• Approved a recommendation to conclude using the consulting services of Steve Dudley, who was hired in 2022 for the Buttahatchee River Sportsplex project. The sportsplex is now nearing completion. Dudley was noted by the council as being “a valuable part of the success of this project.”
• The council also went into an executive session to discuss pending litigation. There were no actions or votes taken after the session.
See complete story in the Journal Record.
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