SC EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION STATISTICS: City staff has consulted with the SCESC regarding City unemployment figures. They let us know for the City of Aiken unemployment percentages are:
January 2010 16.9%
February 2010 15.2%
March 2010 13.6%
The County of Aiken unemployment rate is 8.5%, down from 9.9% in February of this year. SCESC staff has let us know that city rates tend to be higher than county rates due to the higher concentration of people living in an urban setting. Their report is attached.
FARMER’S MARKET: Thursday Nights at the Farmers’ Market will begin Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. Our Farmers’ Market will be open every Thursday this summer until Thursday, August 26, 2010.
CENSUS PARTICIPATION: The nation mail-in response rate remains at 72%. Aiken County is 76% and the City of Aiken is now up to 79%. Our city citizen response rate has significantly improved since the 2000 Census.
COMMENDATIONS: John Powell, APRT Administrative Assistant has received high compliments from M.J. Nagy for assisting with a registration. Larry Morris has also received a complimentary letter from Carol M. Scott, Kalmia Landing Homeowners Association President, regarding pond repairs that were completed. Copies of these two letters are attached for your reference.
APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT OF DEVELOPER’S RIGHTS FOR THE WHITNEY POLO FIELD: At the City Council meeting of January 11, 2010, Council discussed the need for stormwater improvements at the Whitney Polo Field. The polo field and surrounding areas have a major drainage problem that needs correcting. At the meeting City Council asked us to meet with the Whitney Trustees concerning a possible protective property agreement in return for completing this work. The Mayor and staff met on several occasions with representatives from the Whitney Trustees. Attached is a protective property agreement which prohibits the Whitney Trust from conveying or selling the property for a 25 year period. In return for the protective property agreement, the City would renew the drainage system and construct a new pavilion. The polo fields are used for several different events, including polo, soccer tournaments, festivals, and with the pavilion additional events could be held at the site. When cleaning the ditch inside and outside the track, the City would also clear some of the underbrush and selected trees to assist the drainage and provide additional parking for these events. Funding for the stormwater work would come from the Stormwater Account and the Accommodations Tax Funds can pay for the pavilion.
Before the agreement is voted on by the Whitney Trustees, we want Council to review and possibly approve the agreement. We have asked City Solicitor Ben Moore, who drafted the agreement, and representatives from the Whitney Trustees to be available at tonight's meeting to answer any questions concerning this agreement. The principles developed within this agreement could be used with other major land owners to help preserve other open space properties within our community.
APPROVAL OF DEED OF DEDICATION FOR SANITARY SEWER LINES LOCATED IN VILLAGE AT WOODSIDE WELLNESS AND MEDICAL CENTER PHASE II: In the attached resolution, Silver Bluff Development Company LLC would like the City of Aiken to accept the sanitary sewer system located in the Village at Woodside Wellness and medical Center Phase II. Our Engineering staff has reviewed the sewer system and has found no deficiencies or items that need remediation. Staff recommends that Council accept this deed of dedication.
FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO SET THE MILLAGE RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: Every year City Council adopts a budget for the following year and also a separate ordinance that establishes the millage rate to meet the budget needs. Two years ago the millage rate changed from 71 mills to 66 mills. This year by maintaining the millage rate at 66 mills you will have experienced 22 consecutive fiscal years without a millage rate increase. Over that period of time we have actually reduced the millage rate on 5 separate occasions from 120 mills to the current 66 mills or a 45% decrease. This is in spite of recent revenue losses during tough economic times and the loss of revenue from reduced telecommunications and vehicle taxes amounting to well over $1 million every year. We are happy to have been able to control raising taxes, and we contribute the success to the careful stewardship of these funds by Council and staff alike.
FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011: For the past couple of years we have been facing difficult economic times within our community, state and nation. Although the City of Aiken has weathered most of the problems, we still find that our building permits, state funding, vehicle taxes and interest will be well short of our peak in 2007. Next fiscal year we project that we will continue to fall short of the revenues that we received two years ago by 55% for building permits, 35% for state revenue, 85% for interest earned on investments, and 15% on vehicle taxes. This amounts to a $150,000 loss for building permits, $240,000 reduction from the State, and a $380,000 loss in interest earned on investments. Altogether our revenues and expenditures will shrink by 1% from the budget two years ago.
Last year we cut or suspended several items that we would normally purchase and many of these are in this year's budget. We have increased our capital purchases by $500,000 in comparison to last year, primarily consisting of 13 new police vehicles, 25 new self-contained breathing apparatus for our Fire Department, new solid waste equipment, an aerial truck, and security cameras and equipment at our recreational sites. This year we have fully funded the vast majority of our Depreciation Accounts, except for Building Depreciation which amounts to approximately $150,000 per year.
The budget reflects a new Community Policing Grant for four positions, three of which were frozen last year. We still have 5 other positions in other departments that are frozen this year which will not be filled until the economy dramatically improves.
Even with the difficult economy we are seeing increases in our personal property tax from new homes and business, and we anticipate an increase of over $300,000 from what we received two years ago. Although building permits have been down the last two years, we are starting to see a rebound and expect a slight growth in new housing next year.
The budget includes a small payroll increase of 1% for all full and part-time employees. The increase would be provided only if we have a sufficient surplus from this year's budget. This past February we enacted a 5% increase for our employees to pay for health insurance, and we will continue to monitor this during the next fiscal year to determine if any additional increases are necessary to maintain our health costs.
Last year City Council asked us to add major security at our H. O. Weeks and Smith-Hazel recreational centers. We are finalizing the plans for the security equipment and have funded the equipment and two part-time employees for security at these locations during evenings and weekends.
We have not removed funding within the budget for any of the agencies that we have supported in the past. This includes the Library for $12,000, ADDA $60,000, Lower Savannah Council of Governments (Best Friend Express) $15,000, Economic Development Partnership $10,000, and from the Victims Services budget $9,000 for the Child Advocacy Center and $9,000 for the Cumbee Center.
We are also providing $6,000 from our Accommodations taxes for the Center for the Arts to help provide assistance for public restrooms at their facilities. The budget also includes funding to continue the facade grant program, road network studies for the Northside, Dougherty Road, and SC 19; and post retirement health benefits of $225,000.
From the Local Option Sales Tax we have included funding for several water and sewer rehabilitation projects, mobile bleachers, capping of the former landfill, reducing stormwater in Hitchcock Woods, Northside road studies, Citizens Park walking trail, and restrooms, street resurfacing, and Whiskey Road sidewalks.
We prepared the budget to try to meet the short term and long term goals that Council approved from our Horizons Retreat. Within the General Fund there are no tax increases for the 22nd year and no other increased fees are proposed.
APPROVAL OF DATE FOR MEETING WITH SMALL BUSINESSES: At our previous City Council meeting, several small business owners discussed with City Council possible ways for the City to assist and help them grow their businesses. City Manager Roger LeDuc recently met with Katy Lipscomb and Beth Nicholson as a follow up to this meeting concerning setting a date to meet with small businesses located in the City of Aiken. They would like to meet some time during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. to begin discussing some of their concerns.
At the first meeting they would like to discuss the following three items:
1. Should City Council develop a Small Business Committee similar to the Arts Committee which would encompass different types and sizes of small businesses representing various areas of the city, or should an ad hoc group like the Equine Committee be developed. Council could begin by developing a task force or focus groups to begin meeting with the businesses utilizing a facilitator or designated chair person.
2. Could the City or other entity develop small business districts or area councils?
3. Are there ways that the City could assist businesses through possible facade grants, shop Aiken advertising, landscaping, or some other way.
At tonight's meeting we are asking City Council to bring their calendars so we could set a date to meet with small businesses within the City of Aiken.
SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE REGARDING PORTABLE SIGNS IN THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS ZONE: For the last couple of years the City has been discussing with the Downtown Development Association the portable signs (sandwich boards) used by many of the businesses. The current Zoning Ordinance prohibits these types of signs on sidewalks since they are in the street right of way and therefore considered as off site signage. Last fall the Aiken Downtown Development Association (ADDA) proposed standards to regulate signs on the sidewalk in the downtown area. Since that time several meetings have been held between the ADDA and the Planning Commission concerning this proposal. At the April Planning Commission meeting they voted unanimously to recommend amendments to the Zoning Ordinance regarding portable signs in the Downtown Business area as proposed in the attached amended Zoning Ordinance. The only additional changes that they recommended were that the sign would be no taller than 4 feet, including the legs and no wider than 2 feet and not more than 6 square feet in total area. They also added an item 4 under the same section that stated all signs must be brought inside when the business is closed. Based on the recommendation from ADDA and the Planning Commission, we recommend that City Council consider approval of the attached amendments for temporary signs
ROAD ISSUES: Representative Tom Young has a weekly email update on issues of importance to Aiken residents. Please check his email at http://reptomyoung.com to sign up to receive his weekly update.
If you see a road problem (potholes, dead animals, etc), you can call the SCDOT at 641-7665 or Aiken County at 642-1532 to report the problem. If you do not get a prompt response, please let me know at TomYoung@schouse.gov or call me. In the past three months, I have received many different reports of problems and I have relayed those to the appropriate agencies. If you know that the road is maintained by the City, please call 642-7610. Please keep in mind that most of the main roads in the City are the responsibility of the State (Whiskey, Silver Bluff, Pine Log, South Boundary, Park, Laurens, etc
PS: Please visit http://reptomyoung.com for more posts, news, video updates and if you have Twitter please click here to start following Tom! He is doing an excellent job in constituent services.
Tom Young
649-0000 (o)
215-3631 (cell)
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