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December 1, 2008

Council urged to address COLA for retirees

Charles Oliver

The Dalton City Council didn’t vote on a cost-of-living (COLA) increase for 2009 for retirees Monday, though two audience members asked council members to add the measure to their agenda.

“The COLA for retirees has normally been on the agenda for the mayor and council,” said former Dalton Utilities manager DeForrest Parrott. “I understand that maybe in these economic times no one is going to recommend to this body to put this on the agenda, that it could be swept under the table by default.”

Randy Mayfield asked council members to think of the city’s employees.

“We have a responsibility to take care of our employees who have retired and those who will be retiring,” he said.

But Mayor David Pennington said the pension fund is already underfunded without adding to its obligations.

“We started the year with $61 million in pension assets and we’ll finish the year with about $50 million in pension assets. The pension fund was $15 million underfunded at the first of the year,” he said.

After the meeting Parrott said the pension fund would not be underfunded if the council had put in enough money over the years. He said even if council members decide not to approve a COLA they should at least vote on the issue and discuss it in public.

The pension board has recommended a 3 percent COLA. That recommendation was on the council’s agenda at its Nov. 17 meeting but the council took no action.

“I don’t think anybody has said we won’t do that (vote),” said council member George Sadosuk. “No one has said it’s a dead issue.”

Sadosuk said council members could revisit it at any time, but given the current economic downturn the council can’t approve a COLA now.

“This recession we are in is going to affect the city. It’s going to affect the county, and it’s going to affect the country,” he said.

Council member Dick Lowrey said he would not be opposed to voting on a COLA, but he says the votes are not there to pass it at this time.

“This is a tough year. In my business, I’ve got people who’ve been with me 25 years. They won’t get a raise this year. We just don’t have it. The people who have retired from my business can’t look for any sort of COLA. And I think those people have worked just as hard and just as diligently as the city retirees,” he said.

Council members voted 4-0 to approve a new hotel/motel tax ordinance. City attorney Jim Bisson said the ordinance had not been updated since 1983 and needed technical changes to make it conform to state law. The tax rate remains 6 percent.

The council also voted 4-0 to authorize the mayor to accept a $1,500 grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to design and create brochures for a walking tour of West Hill Cemetery.

Council members heard the first reading of an ordinance that would change the definition of family that would be permitted in single-family homes. The proposed ordinance would remove aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews from the definition of family and cut the number of unrelated adults who can live in single-family homes to two from five.

The Dalton-Whitfield Planning Commission on Nov. 24 voted not to recommend the changes. A staff analysis for the planning commission said the ordinance might set the number of unrelated adults allowed in single-family homes too low, especially if the expansion of Dalton State College causes more students to live in single-family homes.

Council member Charlie Bethel asked members of the community to speak to council members if they have any concerns about the changes. After the meeting, Bethel said he did not himself have concerns but he wanted to make sure the changes represent what the community wants.

The council also proclaimed Dec. 1 as Christian Heritage School Lions Day in honor of the school winning the Georgia Football League championship.

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