Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Madison City Commission on Tuesday, July 13, the commissioners heard a report on the city's recent financial audit. Richard Powell of the Powell and Jones Certified Public Accountants firm, from Lake City, presented his 84-page report to the commissioners. According to Powell, the City of Madison remains on firm financial ground. The city is in about the same position at the end of the fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, 2020, as it was at the beginning of the year. “Overall, you are stable,” said Powell. There was a transfer from the city's enterprise fund (money from “business type” activities, such as water, sewer, etc.) to the city's general fund. Powell stated that this type of transfer is not unusual and is no cause for alarm at the present. Powell said this activity has “stabilized” over the years. The only finding noted by Powell is that the city does not have a full-time accountant on staff. This again, is not a cause for great concern for a small municipality such as Madison. The audit also showed that the city has enough funds in reserve to keep the city afloat for almost a year. In raw numbers, the city had total assets of $16,395,456 and total liabilities of $6,252,610. This leaves a positive balance of $10,510,671.
The commissioners heard from a local citizen and business owner, April Davis, who expressed concern over the roof that covers her building. Like many buildings in downtown Madison, hers has a flat roof, which retains water, especially during periods of heavy rainfall. Davis shares a roof with two other businesses. Davis was asking the commissioners if there was a way to convince the other two businesses to help in undergoing roof repairs which would alleviate the flooding and water retention. Acting city attorney Tommy Reeves said the building inspectors could inspect the buildings to determine if they were unsafe, but the city was very limited in the action that could be taken.
The commissioners set the fiscal year 2021-22 millage rate to remain at seven mills. There will be public hearings on both the budget and millage rate forthcoming.
City Manager Jerome Wyche spoke to the commissioners about the deteriorating condition of City Hall. Wyche provided photographs showing some of the extent to which leaking is occurring. This leaking is also contributing to a condition in which City Hall is a “sick building.” Increasing mold presence is beginning to be a health concern for city staff who work in the aging building. The commissioners approved a plan to have an architect examine the building in order to find a suitable solution. Funding assistance has been sought from the legislature and through grant funding.
The commissioners discussed the agreement between the city and Edward Dean. Dean has been serving the city as a grant writer for the previous year. The commissioners did express concern over receiving more frequent reports on the progress of the various grant for which the city has applied. Wyche stated that more frequent reporting will be forthcoming in the future.
Wyche gave his usual report to the commissioners. Among the items Wyche informed the commissioners on was the pending sale of the local Pic-N-Sav grocery store. The store will become “Bob and Jim's Fresh Neighborhood Market.” Wyche also stated that the buyer is making tentative plans to open a seafood restaurant in the same shopping center. The final timelines are still pending, but a target date for the changes has been set for Sunday, Aug. 8. The owners of the current bed and breakfast on Dade St. have made an application to turn the location into a Jamaican restaurant. The timeline for that project is still pending. A prospective buyer is looking at possibly purchasing the white building on the corner of Marion St. and Duval Ave. The building currently is owned by the district school board. According to Wyche, there are discussions ongoing about turning the building into a “Steak and Ale” type of restaurant. All actions on that project are pending.
New “Welcome to Madison” signs have been purchased and should be installed in the coming days.
The next scheduled meeting of the Madison City Commissioners is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Aug. 10, at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall. City Hall is located at 321 SW Rutledge St., in Madison.