This plaque of appreciation was presented to former Fort Oglethorpe City Manager Ron Goulart for his dedication to the city.The city of Fort Oglethorpe should soon have a new city manager.
The application process ended Aug. 31.
“We will probably wind up with 30 applicants,” Mayor Earl Gray said just before the window closed. “Interviews, interviews, interviews will determine who the next city manager will be.”
Councilman Derek Rogers said he enjoyed working with former city manager Ron Goulart, who left just over a month ago to take the position of Catoosa County’s new state court judge. Councilman Craig Crawford agreed it was a pleasure working with Goulart, adding that Goulart left the city better than he found it. Mayor Pro Tem Paula Stinnett said the council will miss Goulart, but looks forward to seeing his many accomplishments in his new position.
“I want the public to know I’m leaving on good terms,” Goulart said. “It’s been very rewarding working here. I’ve established a good friendship with employees and citizens for the city. It was not an easy decision to leave. This was a great opportunity for me to end my career. I appreciate the opportunity to serve you and the citizens of Fort Oglethorpe.”
In light of the vacant city manager position, officials are already working on the 2017 fiscal year budget, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017.
“We are trying to get the budget ready so the new city manager will have what he or she needs,” said Gray.
While it’s still early in the process and numbers aren’t finalized, he said the millage rate will remain 6.753 mills.
“We voted on the millage rate and left it the same as last year,” he said. “No major differences are on the budget.”
One potential change, however, is a $5,000 line item to join the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, which, according to its website, can help a company see why a move to the “Top of Georgia” is the right one. Essentially a consortium of marketing dollars spread between member municipalities, the dollars that go in – which come from both private and public sources – help the economic well-being of the area.
“We’ve always worked with them, but we’ve never actually been a member of the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority,” Gray said, adding the Council voted to table the NGJDA decision until a new city manager is hired. “You get more benefits as a member of the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority.”
In other business:
- * Gray said the city is ready to start re-roofing City Hall. “We are doing a complete re-roof on the whole building starting right after Labor Day. It takes six to eight weeks, weather-depending. It should be done by mid-October.”
- * The city is taking extra precautions in light of the Zika virus. “Since the Zika virus is out, we are using twice as much mosquito spray,” said Gray. “We spray twice a day instead of once a day. We will continue spraying as long as the weather is warm, so August and September, and maybe October, too.”