The town of Signal Mountain is changing some policies to deal with rising costs. At the Monday council meeting there were discussions about changing the current purchasing levels that were last established in the early 2000’s. Finance Director Jennifer Broomfield said a big issue is being caused because of the drastic increases in prices. One example and the item of most concern at the moment is diesel fuel. She said if it goes up to $5 per gallon, the current ordinance that regulates spending requires that a request for proposal and council approval would be needed before fuel could be bought for city vehicles.
There are different levels of spending and specific requirements for each, such as if quotes or sealed bids are needed and which town officials have to sign off on the purchase prior to it being made. An alternative was suggested to exclude diesel fuel from the spending levels but it was recognized that the current levels need to be increased overall. Talk will continue at the next council meeting with advice from new Interim City Manager Elaine Brunelle, whose first council meeting was Monday night.
There are nine department heads in Signal Mountain, and the town has had an aggregate credit card limit of $10,000. If everyone with vehicles uses their credit cards to fill up, it will push the town close to its credit limit. The one-year monthly average charged to the cards is around $4,000 and there is a multiple week lag between receiving the credit card statement and paying it. This lag also ties up available credit. So the council approved increasing the credit card limit from $10,000 to $20,000.
Matt Justice, water utility director, said his department is run as lean as possible with only one full time clerk. She is being pulled in all directions, he said, because the location of her desk makes it appear that she is the town hall receptionist. With so much of her time being spent assisting visitors dealing with issues such as pool passes, building codes, property tax payments and public works-related issues she is not fully able to efficiently perform her duties to the water department. Mr. Justice asked the council to approve construction of a new water utility office or to come up with another plan so she will be able to concentrate on her job.
There is also the question of who will do those jobs if the water clerk is not doing them. There is a lot of overlap of employees’ responsibilities, said Council Member Vicki Anderson. Council Member Elizabeth Baker suggested adding another position, or possibly a shared position, that would allow employees to do the jobs they were hired for. There is a question if the building remodel to create a dedicated work area would be the solution. A plan for solving the problem will be on the agenda at the June 27 meeting.
A vote passed which sets new fees for the stormwater utility. The amount was calculated to fund the cost of stormwater management and for the operation, maintenance and capital improvements of the stormwater system. The minimum stormwater user’s fee will be $51.48 per year unless the property has over 3,960 square feet of impervious area, then the amount will be calculated per square foot.
Bid requests were sent out for residential waste removal and disposal and just one bid was received. It came from Republic Waste for the amount of $338,488 annually for a 36-month contract starting in July, which the council accepted.
Public Works Director Loretta Hopper has requested that the town buy a bucket truck for use by multiple departments. She provided information about the money Signal Mountain has spent from May 2017 until the end of May, 2022 for tree removal, which totals $24,650 for the five-year period. In addition to tree removal, she said the truck could be used to change lights at the ball fields and tennis courts. The recreation department now spends $3,000-$3,500, 8-10 times a year for this work. The public works department would also use the truck to trim overhanging trees in the right of way and to respond quickly to emergencies such as storms. A bucket truck is included in the vehicle replacement fund, but the planned cost was lower than the bid which came in at $150,074. The council will decide at the June 27 meeting, if it is more cost effective to hire a tree service when needed or to buy the truck after seeing how much the recreation department spends renting bucket trucks.
Another item that was tabled for 30 days, waiting for more information, is what entity will collect the four percent hotel/motel taxes on behalf of the town. Hamilton County is equipped to collect the taxes for a charge of one percent of the amount that they collect. A decision about entering into the proposed interlocal agreement with the county was postponed after Council Member Andrew Gardner said there are no hotels or motels, only short-term rentals and that the town could perhaps find a way to collect it without paying the fee. “We can use every dollar we can get,” he said. Before another vote on the question, the city manager was asked to find out if it can be done without the county and if Hamilton County would be responsible for helping enforce the tax payments.
The Signal Mountain Lions Club has volunteered to refurbish signs on both sides of Signal Mountain Boulevard to improve the entrance coming into the town. The Welcome to Signal Mountain sign will be repaired as well as the sign by CVS that is in the most need of restoration. The work will include replacing rotten shingles on the roofs and repainting the signs, and will be done at no cost to the town.