Call to Order – Chairman White called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. Board members present were J. B. White, Eddie Roberts, Jr., Eddie Ford, & Harvey Norris. Also present was Rae Johnston representing Haisten & Johnston. Staff members present were Marcie Seleb, general manager, and Alyssa Hopson, clerk to the board.
Approval of Minutes from December 11, 2018 Meeting – Mr. Roberts made a motion to dispense with the reading of, and to approve, the minutes from the December 11, 2018 meeting. This was seconded by Mr. Ford and approved unanimously.
Presentation of Fiscal Year 2018 Audit – Rae Johnston gave an overview of the Financial Statements for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. She reported that the audit went well with no findings. Ms. Johnston noted that the Authority had a $30 million total net position, which was an increase of $935,000 over the previous year.
Ms. Seleb presented the Management’s Discussion and Analysis, making note that water sold had dropped by nine percent during the year, primarily due to the large reduction in usage by the Georgia Diagnostic Prison. While the combined water and sewer systems had an overall operating income $118,212, Water Operations actually lost $24,012 during the year. This was the first year of Water Operations loss since FY 2007.
Ms. Johnston excused herself from the meeting at 5:50 p.m. Copies of the audit and slides included in Ms. Seleb’s presentation are included and made a part of these minutes.
Consider Municipal Wholesale Rate Modification – Ms. Seleb presented the Board with the annual wholesale rate calculation for regular municipal wholesale customers. The rate will increase from $5.24 per 1000 gallons to $5.97 per 1000 gallons. Mr. Ford made a motion to raise wholesale rates. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously. A copy of the rate is attached and made part of these minutes.
Consider Proposal from Harris Computer Systems for Water Payment Update File – Ms. Seleb presented a proposal from Harris for a payment output file from the Authority’s utility billing software. The file will give the Authority the ability to export a daily update of balances that must be posted on the interactive web site for bill payment. Harris is charging a one-time payment of $5,000 for the file creation and $500 for annual support. Mr. Norris made a motion to accept the proposal. This was seconded by Mr. Roberts and approved unanimously. A copy of the proposal is attached and made part of these minutes.
Consider Website Update – Ms. Seleb presented a proposal from Eyesore Inc. for the refresh of a WordPress website for the Authority for $4,000. The Authority’s website was last updated in 2009 by the same firm. Mr. Ford made a motion to accept the proposal. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously. A copy of the proposal is attached and made part of these minutes.
Manager’s Report
Construction – Ms. Seleb reported due to extensive rain, the Authority’s crew has been unable to lay pipe, but has been keeping busy repairing valves, installing services, repairing leaks, and doing equipment maintenance. Projects set to begin the next few weeks include the tie-in at Barnes Road and Hwy. 16 West, the Hwy. 36 East Yellow Water Creek Bridge water relocation, and the water extension on Hwy. 16 West to the Spalding County line.
Operations Statistics – Ms. Seleb reviewed water production, water loss and customer statistics for December. The average daily finished water pumped to the Authority, Jackson and Jenkinsburg from Burford and Stewart plants was 2.0 million gallons per day, with a maximum of 2.3 million gallons per day. The rolling twelve-month average loss was 12.4% with the current monthly average loss at 14.8%. The total amount of finished water pumped in December by each plant was: Burford – 57 million gallons and Stewart – 5 million gallons.
Water billing for December was $204,917, equal to the previous month and down 12% the same month for the previous year. Sewer billing for December was $39,500, down 12% from the previous month and down 22% from the previous year.
Total water accounts numbered 5,626 at the end of December with 5,146 active water customers. Three subdivision water meters were purchased on the existing system.
There were 184 total sewer accounts at the end of December with all of those being active customers.
Financial Report – Ms. Seleb reviewed the financial summary for Water & Sewer Operations, Capital Recovery Fees, and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for December 2018. Water operations income for December was $218,892 with $143,944 in expenses. Water capital recovery fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2019 thus far was $8,293.
Sewer Operations income for December was $44,531 with expenses of $18,546. Sewer Capital Recovery Fee revenue for Fiscal Year 2019 thus far was $5102 with $0 in expenses. To date, $2,692,528 has been collected in 2013-18 SPLOST revenue, with $2,406,380 expended.
Total cash on hand at the end of December was $10,050,773. This is $634,755 under the June 30, 2018 balance. Copies of the December 2018 financial summaries, the consolidated fund balance sheet and the consolidated fund income statement are attached and made a part of these minutes.
Adjourn – A motion was made by Mr. Roberts to adjourn the meeting at 6:20 p.m. This was seconded by Mr. Norris and approved unanimously.