Special Called Meeting - Budget Retreat

Special Called Meeting – Budget Retreat October 18, 2025 at 9:00 A.M. City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083 Minutes 1 Mayor and Council: Dr. Beverly Jones – Mayor | Post 3: Mayor Pro Tem Ryan Smith 2 Post 1: Council Member Anita Bass | Post 2: Council Member Mark Marianos 3 Post 4: Council Member Gil Freeman | Post 5: Council Member Shawnette Bryant 4 Post 6: Council Member Teresa Crowe 5 6 Staff: Maggie Dimov – Interim City Manager | Shavala Ames - City Clerk 7 8 Call to Order 9 Mayor Jones called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. 10 11 Determination of Quorum 12 PRESENT: Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Mayor Pro 13 Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa 14 Crowe, Mayor Beverly Jones 15 16 ABSENT: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman 17 18 1. Adoption of the Agenda of the Day 19 20 ACTION: MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA OF THE DAY 21 Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Seconded by Council Member: Post 2 22 Mark Marianos 23 24 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 25 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council 26 Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 27 28 MOTION PASSED (UNANIMOUSLY) 29 30 2. Presentation of Fiscal Year 2026 Proposed Budget, Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov 31 32 Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov presented an overview of the proposed budget as outlined in the 33 meeting packet, detailing the City of Stone Mountain’s responsibilities in reviewing and adopting the 34 annual budget. She highlighted key components of the proposal, including staff salary adjustments, the 35 realignment of the Manager of Special Events and Communications under the Visitor Center, and 36 revisions to the salary ranges for the City Manager and Finance Director positions. 37 38 Council Member Freeman arrived at 9:22 p.m. 39 40 Council Members discussed the possibility of adopting a fiscal year from July to June instead of 41 following the calendar year. They emphasized that new positions should only be added through the October 18, 2025 Special Called Meeting Page 1 of 2 42 budget amendment process and reviewed a proposed Public Works position to handle custodial 43 services for the City. It was also recommended that the City explore options for a new Public Works 44 facility. 45 46 Discussion addressed Public Works equipment, including the potential acquisition of a street sweeper. 47 After thorough dialogue, it was suggested that the City coordinate with the county to utilize existing 48 resources, while ensuring that Public Works maintains adequate equipment to manage the City’s 49 workload. 50 51 Further dialogue focused on Police Department salary increases. Interim City Manager Dimov 52 proposed a standard process for department-wide salary adjustments of approximately two percent, 53 with the potential for additional increases based on performance evaluations. Council Members also 54 emphasized that salaries should remain competitive. 55 56 A discussion was held regarding the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and its responsibilities to 57 the City. Council Members questioned the City’s funding of the DDA, given that it operates as an 58 independent entity. An inquiry was made regarding the DDA’s year-to-date financial figures, but Interim 59 City Manager Dimov noted that this information was not available at the time. 60 61 It was clarified that cemetery landscaping expenses are funded through the Public Works Department. 62 Council Members also discussed the possibility of establishing a temporary moratorium to allow time to 63 review cemetery operations, maintenance needs, and long-term planning for the site. 64 65 Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov provided an overview of the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local 66 Option Sales Tax) program, outlining the current and upcoming projects supported through these funds 67 and their intended impact on city infrastructure and community improvements. 68 69 Financial Consultant Angelia Adediran offered a detailed explanation of the Asset Forfeiture process, 70 describing how these funds are collected, managed, and appropriately applied within city departments 71 in accordance with state and federal regulations. 72 73 74 3. Adjournment 75 76 ACTION: MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 12:19 P.M. 77 Motion made by Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Seconded by Council Member: Post 1 78 Anita Bass 79 80 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 81 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: 82 Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 83 84 MOTION PASSED (UNANIMOUSLY) 85 86 87 _______________________________ ________________________________ 88 Dr. Beverly Jones, Mayor City Clerk, Shavala Ames October 18, 2025 Special Called Meeting Page 2 of 2