Marietta City Council Meeting - October 28, 2025
Marietta City Council Meeting - October 28, 2025
This joint meeting of the Marietta City Council and its committees covered a wide range of topics including financial reports regarding tourism and budget reconciliation, personnel appointments, code amendments for fire service scheduling, and various infrastructure projects. The session concluded with a special work session moving to an executive session regarding pending litigation.
Consent Calendar
- Financial Reports: Staff presented Hotel Motel Tax and Auto Rental Tax collections, noting Hotel Motel collections were at their lowest September since fiscal year 2022, though year-to-date figures remained above budget. Quarterly financials showed revenue 21% ahead of last year's Q1.
- Budget Reconciliation: Approved a general fund budget reconciliation allowing $2.58 million in capital expenditures to be purchased based on year-end surplus.
- Donations: Approved budget amendments to accept and utilize $2,000 in private donations for the Parks and Recreation Harvest Festival and $20,000 in restricted annual donations from a donor to the Marietta History Center for exhibit rentals.
- Personnel: Approved motions to certify election results (amended to remove the word "vacancy" from the motion text) and appoint Donald B. Barth to Civil Service Board Post 4, reappointing Mr. Tarvin for Post 3. Approved funding for the Police Co-Responder Program using opioid settlement funds.
- Fire Department: Approved a first reading of a code amendment to transition the fire suppression team from a 24/48 schedule to a 24/72/48/72 (13-2-3) rotation, aiming for implementation by January 4, 2026. The amendment aligns the 28-day pay cycle with FLSA provisions.
- Parks & Tourism: Approved allocating $33,746.82 in unallocated Parks Bond funds to cover cost overruns at Wildwood Park. Approved a $175,000 allocation from the tourism reserve to support marketing for the nation's 250th anniversary and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Approved a one-time $20,000 grant to the NAACP for operating costs. Approved the allocation of tourism funds and specific project updates.
- Judicial/Legislative: Approved a fee increase for vehicle immobilization services to $75. Approved the final plat for Greenhouse Phase II (140 additional units). Moved the lease renewal for the Welcome Center (4 Depot Street) to the agenda work session for legal and administrative modifications. Approved donation of right-of-way for 105 Ayers Avenue. Approved speed studies for Heatherset Drive and Wood Drive.
- Public Works: Approved GDOT resolution requests for a $411,067 (total) Transportation Digital Twin Network grant and a $500,000 (total) Cherokee Street widening project grant, to be funded via SPLOST. Approved the 2028 SPLOST project list.
Public Comments & Testimony
- NAACP Grant: Councilmember Carl, a member of the NAACP, disclosed his affiliation but expressed strong support for the $20,000 grant, noting the organization "brings a lot of people to the absolutely" and the funds were needed for rising costs.
- Fire Department Schedule: Several comments acknowledged the benefits of the new schedule for work-life balance, noting that firefighters will "wake up at home 42 more times a year." A member noted that the rotation system (A/B/C teams) covers the cycle effectively, even if complex.
- Vehicle Booting: Councilmember Carl expressed concern and opposition regarding the requirement for a separate company to perform booting on private property (Item 7), stating, "I think that's just going too far," and preferring property owners have the right to hire their own service.
- Downtown Solid Waste: First Baptist Church representatives communicated a desire for street closures (Dobbs and Root) as a condition for the dumpster enclosure, citing safety; however, Public Works staff stated the current approved plan does not require street closures or property access changes at this time.
Discussion Items
- World Cup & Tourism: Staff projected the city will benefit significantly from the World Cup due to proximity and existing facilities, with Atlanta United hosting a team headquarters. Anticipated revenue increases were noted, though exact figures remain unknown until team assignments in December.
- Fire Scheduling: Detailed the shift from a 24/48 cycle to a 13-2-3 cycle to reduce fatigue, burnout, and commutes (from 10 to 6.5 times/month). The proposal was described as cost-neutral with 100% department survey participation and 90% approval.
- Alcohol Code: Discussed revisions to allow package stores to consume wine and malt beverages on-premise if they meet the 80% gross sales threshold for the primary category. Confirmed the intent was an "either/or" for the 80% requirement, though title language was flagged as inconsistent and requiring clarification.
- Lease Renewal (4 Depot Street): Identified issues with the lease term language ("month-to-month" definition vs. 5-year term) and backdating of the effective date. Proposed moving the item to a work session to correct the term to align with the previous lease's expiration and clarify the start date to July 1 or December 1 to avoid backdating.
Key Outcomes
- Adopted Resolutions: Approved resolutions to apply for GDOT grants for the Transportation Digital Twin ($320,000 requested) and Cherokee Street widening ($400,000 requested).
- Approved Fees: Vehicle booting removal fee set at $75 (increased from $50).
- Funding Allocations: $175,000 allocated for tourism promotions; $20,000 allocated to NAACP; $33,746.82 reallocated to Wildwood Park; $20,000 donated to History Center.
- Code Amendments: Moved to the agenda work session for a fire department schedule change (24/72/48/72); moved alcohol code titling to work session; moved Welcome Center lease to work session for legal review.
- Approvals: Final Plat for Greenhouse Phase II approved; Budget Reconciliation approved; Police Co-Responder Program extended via opioid funds; Speed studies authorized for Heatherset and Wood Drive.
- Executive Session: Motion carried to go into executive session regarding pending litigation at the conclusion of the work session.
Note: There was a discrepancy in the transcript regarding the date of the minutes being reviewed. The transcript begins by referencing "August 26th" minutes but quickly corrects to "September 30th" minutes for the finance committee, while the Parks/Recreation and Judicial committees also reference September 30th minutes. The summary reflects the September 30th dates as they were the confirmed items of business.
Meeting Transcript
And uh is the meeting minutes from August the 26th, 2025. Um September 30th right there. Yeah. Okay. Um what am I looking at? I think you might be looking at the minutes. Okay. September 30th. Yeah, I got it. Okay. At the wrong one. Um make a motion to approve the minutes from September 30th, 2025. All those in favor. Three three zero. The next items we'll take, I guess, in uh sequence, the hotel motel auto rental tax and a quarterly financial report. Yes, sir. Thank you so much, Chairman. Um the first item is the hotel motel. The hotel collections um continue to fall below the um monthly collections um for prior years. This is the lowest September that we've seen since um fiscal year 2022. The fiscal year-to-date collections um uh are in line um with the budget, so we are above our budget, but it is lower than prior years. So our budgeted we're budgeted at um year to date at 1.24 million um through period three, and our actual collections is 1.34 million, so we are above budget um year to date. Taking a look at our 3% auto rental, our auto rental is again at its second lowest fiscal year to date um in the past four years. The month of September totaled 93.6,000, while the fiscal year to date is 426,000. Um the actual exceeded the budget by about 26,000 for um fiscal year to date. Um the hotel motel collections fell just shy of their distribution requirements, but again, we are ahead year to date, so we have not had to um fall into our reserves and in order to meet our distribution requirements. Moving ahead to our quarterly financial report, our financials look really good for Q1. Um at the end of Q1, we are 20%, 21%, I'm sorry, of our fiscal year budget for our revenue, and that um equates to about 1.2 million ahead of last year's Q1. And the primary areas for those increases include property taxes, insurance premiums, and intergovernmental transfers. So those were um the most impactful areas for our revenue so far. Um we are closing out period four, which is October, and the revenue drivers for Q2 will be our tax equity uh reimbursement or the SDS. So that is coming in a little bit higher than we projected, and our property tax um deadline is also approaching, and so we are um anticip we are in line with our budget for that thus far, and so we'll have the deadline for that at the end of this week. From an extended expenditure standpoint, our expenses and encumbrances are at 25 percent of the full year budget, which you would anticipate one-fourth of the way through the year. Our operating services are ahead of schedule. That's primarily because of the contractual maintenance. Normally those um uh contracts are renewed on an annual basis, so that put our expenses a little bit higher in Q1, but it'll level out as we go out through the um the remainder of the year. Um but collectively between the operating and the capital, we are on par yet a date. Um if you take a look at the golf course fund, which is the last page of the packet. The first quarter revenue is 35 percent of the budget, which is just two thousand thirty-two thousand short of last use last year's revenue to date. Um, and the operating expenses are also 35 percent of the budget. Although our revenues exceed our expenses, the profitability is down by 146,000, but that includes 25% of the um transfer of the general fund for an annual basis, and it also includes 161,000 of unbudgeted emergency facility improvements that we had to do, and that had to do with the pipes that we um put in for the um golf course. So that was not included in the budget, but it was something that we had to make immediate repairs for this year. So that's included in that overage. And that concludes my um financial report, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Are there any questions? Yes, sir. Absolutely. So my banks paid now. Are there any areas that you are concerned or watching closer? Um we are um hotel motel is um one that we're looking at, even though we made some adjustments for that from a budgetary standpoint.
openpublica.com