City Council members agreed on a proposed millage rate, amended the city’s sign ordinance and recognized a new firefighter at their September meeting.
Mayor Ed Barbee called the Sept. 8 meeting to order. The opening prayer was led by Gray Fire Department Chaplin Lt. Aubrey Register.
During his mayor’s report, Barbee said he spoke to Georgia Department of Transportation District 3 Engineer Tyler Peek about signage at the entrance of the North Gray Bypass. Upgraded signage was proposed to assist with adherence to the city’s truck route to keep 18-wheelers out of the downtown area unless they have business in Gray.
The mayor said they also talked about the traffic signal at the downtown crossing. Peek said a request had been sent to GDOT consultants for help with an upgrade for the aging signal.
With no Old Business, the first item of new business was a hearing for Planning and Zoning requests.
City Attorney John Newberry read the three requests in the absence of Zoning Officer Tim Pitrowski. There was no discussion following the reading. The hearing was adjourned, and the meeting called back to order.
Council members took the requests one at a time. Item A was a request to rezone a property on Vine Street to allow a doublewide mobile home.
Item B was a proposal to amend the city’s sign ordinance. The current ordinance, adopted nearly 20 years ago, limited wall signs to 32 square feet, no matter the size of the building.
The proposal was to allow wall signage up to 10 percent of the total wall area.
Items A and B were unanimously approved.
P&Z item C was request for a variance to allow a 120 square foot sign for Aldi’s that will be located on the former Harvey’s Supermarket building. Newberry explained that the approval of the change in the sign ordinance would make the variance for the Aldi sign not needed.
As a result, the item was postponed to allow the petitioner to withdraw the request.
Agenda item 2 was the second reading to amend the sign ordinance as presented at the P&Z hearing. Mayor Pro Tem James Collins made the motion to adopt the amendment to the ordinance, and the motion was unanimously approved.
Council members approved the presentation of the FY2026 proposed General Fund Budget, Police Confiscation Budget, Hotel/Motel Budget and the proposed FY2025 millage rate.
The tax rate was proposed at 8.436 mills, which is a rollback from the FY2024 rate of 9.5 mills.
If approved, the reduced rate will be the first change in the city’s tax rate since 2009.
Councilman Terrell Fulford, who is also the chairman of the city’s Finance Committee, made a motion to proceed with the proposed budget and millage rate. The motion included scheduling a public hearing for the budget and tax rate Sept. 15.
The next item of business was a motion to schedule the adoption of the city’s FY2026 budget and FY2025 millage rate following the Sept. 15 public hearing. Fulford made that motion, which was unanimously approved.
Firefighter pinning
Gray Fire Chief Keith Eisele presented council with a change of pace, the recognition of a newly certified firefighter. Eisele introduced Bryce Bullock, who has completed more than 400 hours of training while working full-time and supporting his family.
The chief said Bullock was born and raised in Gray and continues to live and work in the community.
“Dedication like his is what makes our department strong and helps up maintain our Class 3 ISO rating,” he said.
Eisele presented Bullock with his firefighter certificate. The badge was handed to Bullock’s mother, who proceeded with the pinning.
“The badge represents public trust. Wearing it is a promise to serve with honor, integrity and commitment,” the chief added. “Remember, you are the one people will call on in their darkest moments. You are the future of the fire service, and we are proud to have you with us.”
The final two items on the agenda were the authorization of the mayor to close out the city’s GEFA loan and the adoption of an on-call pay policy for the city.
Fulford made the motion for the close out of the GEFA loan, and Collins made the motion to adopt the payment policy. Both motions were approved with a unanimous vote.
Barbee asked for public comments. There were none, and the meeting was adjourned.
