City Clerk Bonnie Warne

DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – City Clerk Bonnie Warren gave Dawsonville City Council members a preliminary look at the proposed $5,028,765.79 FY 2017-18 budget at Monday’s work session.

The new spending plan reflects approximately $503,000 increase over the current budget which ends June 30. Public hearings are scheduled for June 5 and 19. Council will adopt the approved budget by resolution during the June 19^th council meeting.

The General Fund budget is projected to be $1,651,707. Other major sources of revenue are projected to be $1,445,797.72 (water and sewer enterprise fund),  $1,151,200 (SPLOST VI) and $415,000 (sewer and water taps).

Council also discussed the ongoing problem of residents in Gold Creek, a planned unit development (PUD), wanting to be annexed into the city. Many live on a small island in the county that is located inside the city. Attorney Dana Miles was instructed to research island issues faced by other cities and create a draft for the next meeting.

The city’s new Planning & Zoning Director Casey Majewski asked for council’s direction relative to a Peddler’s License.

Following an executive session, City Manager Bob Bolz released a prepared statement explaining the return of Mayor James Grogan. It read:

“May 15, 2017, James Grogan was removed as Mayor by a 3-1 vote of the Dawsonville City Council.  After Mr. Grogan received confirmation of that decision in writing from the City of Dawsonville, Mr. Grogan’s counsel filed a “Notice of Appeal”. 

Based upon the code relied upon by James Grogan in his Notice of Appeal cover letter, Mr. Grogan will continue to act as Mayor of Dawsonville during this portion of the appellate proceedings, until a decision as to his continued service can be obtained from the Dawson County Superior Court.  It is hoped this will limit the number of issues on appeal, so that a timely and efficient resolution of this dispute can be achieved for the City of Dawsonville and its citizens.”

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