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The West Point city council’s business meeting on Monday night opened with the first of three public hearings on the fiscal year 2025 city budget. The proposed budget, presented to the council by City Manager Ed Moon at the last work session, will be approximately $30 million.

In comparison, the city’s budget nearly 20 years ago was about $12 million. 

Next year’s budget will include a 4 percent COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) for all full-time employees, in addition to the regular operating budget for city departments. A more detailed breakdown of the budget is available in a recent article on the Valley Times-News website. 

The full budget breakdown and Moon’s presentation is also available to the public on the city’s website at https://www.cityofwestpointga.com/government/elected_officials/agendas_minutes.

The city council is required to hold several public hearings on the budget during which citizens are invited to approach the council with any concerns or questions. 

Though no one came for the hearing on Monday, citizens will have another opportunity to bring up questions at upcoming public hearings. The next one will take place on November 26. 

After the hearing was closed, the rest of the council meeting moved along quickly. The department heads gave their monthly reports and City Clerk Richard McCoy gave his final financial report to the city council.

McCoy, who has served in the role since 2007, recently announced his upcoming retirement. In 2022, McCoy was honored with the Clerk of the Year award by the Georgia Municipal Clerks Association (GMCA). 

After he gave his last report, Mayor Steve Tramell and the rest of the city council gave McCoy a standing ovation. 

The only other business on the agenda was the designation of the Historic Preservation Commission. Jane Fuller was appointed by the city council to take up her mantle again on the commission. 

The next work session will be held on November 26 and the next business meeting will be on December 9.