Columbus city councilmen voted 5-1 to pay almost $1,000 more per visit for maintenance at Friendship Cemetery despite continuing concerns about the city’s spending — an additional cost that could add between $31,500 to $36,000 per year to the service.
Columbus Chief Operating Officer David Armstrong told councilmen during Tuesday’s regular meeting that the city had initially received two bids for lawn maintenance services at the cemetery, located on Fourth Street South. Lawns, Etc., the city’s contracted maintenance company for the cemetery for the past five years, did not offer the lowest per-cut rate, but after the other company dropped out, Armstrong told the councilmen that Lawns, Etc. “was our only option.”
When Lawns, Etc. contracted with the city in 2013, it charged the city roughly $2,700 every time a crew was sent to mow and trim the grass, pull weeds and remove fallen tree limbs from the site. Armstrong told councilmen he attempted to negotiate the company back down near that amount, but couldn’t negotiate past the bidded rate of $3,600 per cut, a number Armstrong said puts the city over budget for that service, which is around $3,000 per visit.
The new costs comes in the wake Columbus’ financial concerns after two straight fiscal years when the city operated at deficits exceeding $800,000. Mike Crowder, a certified public accountant tasked with reviewing city finances, estimated in March that the city’s general fund will be more than $338,000 in debt by the end of October if the city doesn’t curb spending.
“We were anticipating $3,000 (per cut),” Armstrong said. “It’s the same company we had last time, but the price went up. So we’re not quite on budget. … We tried to negotiate it down, but that’s what they wouldn’t move from. … We send them out there 35 to 40 times a year, so it’s definitely an expense.”
Since 2013, the city has paid between $94,500 and $108,000 per year, depending on how often Lawns, Etc. provided services. With the new price, the city will pay between $108,000 and $144,000.
“We can’t go out and get more quotes,” Armstrong added. “Not with the grass out there growing the way it is.”
Mayor Robert Smith told councilmen that the expense is a necessary one since, if cemetery grounds are not maintained, the city will receive calls from visitors with complaints.
“We’re already getting some because of the grass right now,” he added.
Armstrong added Trotter Convention Center Director Rogena Bonner, who is also responsible for Friendship Cemetery, drives out to the cemetery once or twice a week.
“She has told me, and I believe this, that the grass out there grows very quickly,” he said. “It’s not something we can afford to let go.”
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin, who voted against approving the $3,600 per cut expense, told The Dispatch he understands the optics of maintaining the cemetery, but wants people to understand the city’s financial concerns.
“I know it’s a fine line to walk,” Gavin said. “At some time, people need to realize that we might need to cut some services.”
However, he added, both his parents are buried in the cemetery, so he is sensitive to the wishes of those visiting that the grounds be kept up.
“I understand that people would be upset,” he said. “I don’t want to take that service away. I’d just rather see them go out there and cut the grass every other week instead of every week. I know it depends on the weather, the rain and such. … But at some point, we have got to watch our spending.”
This is not the first time this year Gavin has voted against unplanned spending measures. Last month, he voted against the hiring of six seasonal workers to staff Parks and Recreation summer programs, at $8/hour for nine weeks, despite a hiring freeze councilmen implemented in December. At the time, he told The Dispatch it was because, while the city chose to hire those workers, there were three Columbus police officers who accepted promotions without the accompanying pay raises because of the hiring freeze.
Gavin was also the lone vote against a motion last month for the city to enter an agreement with Lowndes County to pay Rick Millburn to work as a consultant to the Columbus-Lowndes Airport board. The city will pay half of Millburn’s $200 per meeting fee, a payment Gavin opposed.
Currently, there is no official spending freeze on anything except speed humps, curbs and LED streetlights, although councilmen voted in April to approve a seven-point plan that included close monitoring of all non-essential expenses.
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