Residents pepper Albany City Commission with complaints during Tuesday public hearing

ALBANY – Members of the public peppered Albany city commissioners with complaints about a planned tax hike and also requested assistance in dealing with high utility costs during the commission’s work session Tuesday.

The comments from the public came during a public hearing held to discuss the city’s 2024-2025 budget.

“My thing with utilities is why don’t we have budget billing so people can manage their bills?” Albany resident Jamie Mathis said. “My question is why don’t we have budget billing, which would be (better) for me?”

Budget billing allows customers to pay a fixed amount each month and avoid big spikes during times of high energy consumption such as summer and winter.

Mathis also criticized the city’s priorities, mentioning plans for a tennis/pickleball complex. The city and county have about $2.5 million, raised through special-purpose local-option sales tax initiatives, to construct a planned complex.

“Why are we putting all this money toward a tennis court?” Mathis said. “Why are we putting this much money for a tennis court when we have so many people who are struggling to pay for medicine?”

Last month, the city’s Utility Board approved a rate hike for electricity, water, stormwater, garbage collection and natural gas.

The rate increase will be 3.7% for solid waste, stormwater, water and natural gas.

Interim City Manager Derrick Brown said that the average-use customer will see an increase of 27 cents for stormwater charges, $1.05 for water, $1.44 for solid waste and 66 cents per month for natural gas.

The 3.7% increase will match the rate of the consumer price increase for those services, Brown said.

Electric rates are slated to increase by 5%, which would cost the average user an estimated $5.25 per month.

The sewer rate is tied to a 10-year plan of improvements related to the city’s sewage/stormwater separation project and other system improvements, and is expected to increase by 6.5%. That represents an average increase of $2.03.

The increase for electricity is solely to match the increase by an equal amount that the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, of which Albany is a member, has imposed.

Another audience member, Tykivious Grier, addressed the commission on utilities to request that the Utility Board invest $7 million to help community members deal with utility bills.

Of that amount, $2 million would fund assisting customers with catching up on bills, $2 million for assisting the elderly or individuals on fixed incomes to manage utility bills, $2 million to assist residents with weatherizing and $1 million to go toward long-term energy sustainability projects.

“This investment will make Albany a (leader) in the state for energy resiliency,” Grier told commissioners. “We know $7 million is a significant amount of money, but it is an investment in our city’s future. By supporting this … you are showing you support every citizen.”

As a work-at-home employee, Alexis Parker said she is struggling with high electricity bills.

“I went through a lot (during COVID): anxiety, depression,” she said. “I have been experiencing fluctuating utility bills … $250 to $300, and I can’t afford it. Without electricity I cannot dial in to work. I cannot pay these bills.”

File PhotoAlanMauldin[email protected]