The story of your life
SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2015
Vol. 150, No. 18
$1
150 YEARS OF SERVING NEWTON COUNTY
THE COVINGTON C N
NEWS
150 YEARS OF SERVING NEWTON COUNTY
A very happy Mother's Day!
THE COVINGTON
NEWS
C
County moves to buy Cousins Community Center MERIS LUTZ mlutz@covnews.com
Bryan Fazio / The Covington News
A fire, such as this one on West street recently, produces carcinogens on fire gear that could lead to cancer.
Fire Chief: more gear needed
Landfill manager resigns suddenly MERIS LUTZ
and 10 only,” Bowles said. “We had some gear approaching the 10-year mark and when we got here we saw we only had one set of turnout gear.” According to Bowles, each set of turnout gear is $1,850. Bowles also requested funds for a $6,000-8,000 Washer Extractor, which washes gear at a higher RPM than a residential washing machine. That higher RPM helps to eliminate the carcinogens on the turnout gear. “It’s a very needed thing,” Bowles said. “Two of the things that stuck out for me immediately was not having turnout gear and not having a washer. We’re significantly
Newton County’s landfill manager James Peters resigned suddenly this week following months of speculation and debate over the future of the landfill. Peters informed the county on Monday that his last day would be Wednesday, according to County Manager Tom Garrett. Garrett said Peters had “served the county well” in the near decade he ran the landfill. “It is customary [to give two weeks’ notice], but it is not a requirement,” said Garrett, who declined to speculate about Peters’ reasons for leaving.
u See FIRE GEAR, 5A
u See PETERS, 5A
Covington's finances in 'good, good shape'
Proposed budget poses financing challenge
BRYAN FAZIO bfazio@covnews.com
When Covington fire fighters returned from a fire on West Street recently, their clothes, or “turnout gear,” were covered in soot produced from the synthetics burned in the apartment blaze. That soot can contain carcinogens, which lead to cancer — something Fire Chief Stoney Bowles had seen plenty of while working with the Cobb County Fire Department. Bowles said in his 30 years of service in Cobb County, at least 10 fire fighters died from cancer, and some Covington firefighters told him two firefighters here had passed away from cancer.
BRYAN FAZIO bfazio@covnews.com
With the fiscal year winding down, the city of Covington got word that it is “in good, good financial shape,” according to Miller Edwards of Mauldin and Jenkins CPAs, LLC, which presented its audit to the council Monday. Edwards added that he always hesitates to use the word “great” but insinuated Covington’s finances were close. “The general fund is quite healthy and there is about a two-year reserve,” Edwards said.
Objection sustained
To combat these dangers, the Covington Fire Department has to send their gear off to a company in Austell, and then wait four to five days to get it back. If the fire fighters whose gear is sent out have to answer a call during those four or five days, they have to borrow gear from off-duty fire fighters. That is due to the lack of a second set of turnout gear, something Bowles was hoping to remedy when presenting his proposed budget to the Covington City Council Thursday night. Additional turnout gear was his number one budget priority. “The governing body for our rules and regulations, which isn’t a binding law, but guidelines for fire services to try to abide by, says turnout gear is good for 10 years
The Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to move forward with the purchase of the Cousins Community Center for $1.5 million pending appraisals of the property, buildings, environment and utility consumption over the coming months. The county currently rents the buildings on the 27.4 acre lot for the 911 center and other services, and would likely pay several million if it had to relocate those facilities, according to County Attorney Tommy Craig. If the county does not go through with the purchase of the property after performing due diligence, it could continue to rent it for $11,425 a month for the next eight years, totaling more than $1 million. United Bank has offered 20-year financing, with a 3.98 percent interest rate the first five years; capped interest of 7.99 percent the second five years, and market rate for the final ten. Cousins, a former black school and later the county’s first integrated school, was sold by the Board of Education to the Arnold Fund for about $12,000 in the late nineties. The center is currently owned by Cousins Community Center Inc., a 501c3.
Edwards told the council there was a fund balance of about $25 million with assets of $21 million in cash and investment and a revenue of $11 million. Expenditures were around $21 million. “No matter how you shake it, you’re general fund is in very good shape,” Edwards said. When asked by council member Chris Smith if there was anything the city could improve on, Edwards said there wasn’t much. If anything, the airport would be an area of improvement, but it often is with other municipalities. “If I had to sit there and say ‘financially
mlutz@covnews.com
what can we do better,’ I would say airport operations. But the airport generally does not do well,” Edwards said. “It is something the community needs but it is not something that’s going to make money.” Edwards did tell the council that it would be hit for about $7-7.5 million in asset liability due to unfunded liability causing roughly a $7.5 million gap with the pension plan. “It’s nothing to brag about, but also it is nothing to say the sky is falling,” Edwards said. “It is something I want to make sure you know about. This would go in there as a debt because the equity will go down.”
MERIS LUTZ mlutz@covnews.com
The first draft of the proposed FY16 budget sees an increase of $11,998,261 to $59,722,158, which the Board of Commissioners will start hammering back down in the coming weeks. The projected revenue shortfall at present comes out to about $12 million. Some of the largest proposed increases are in the Sheriff ’s office, the Jail, the Roads Department, the Superior Court, and the
u See BUDGET, 5A
Commissioners weigh curbing legal fees
Desire to be “cool” behind gun scare at Conyers Middle School
Lady Rams charge ahead to state
The little ship that could
LOCAL, 2A
LOCAL, 3A
SPORTS, 1B
VETERANS, 1C
The story of two sailors and a formidable ship
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