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Politics & Government

Hiram Charter Amendment Gets House, Senate Approval

House Bill 1187 if approved by Gov. Nathan Deal would allow Hiram to create the position of city manager.

The Hiram charter amendment, House Bill 1187, has received approval from both houses in the Georgia General Assembly; if signed by the governor, it would allow the city to create the position of city manager.

State Rep. Paulette Braddock, R-Hiram, briefly addressed city councilmen on the bill Thursday evening during their work session.

Mayor-elect Doris Devey would be the first Hiram mayor to work with the city manager if the charter amendment ultimately receives approval.

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Councilmen Thursday also heard a presentation from Mark Haney, WellStar Paulding Hospital president and senior vice president of real estate and construction, regarding a height variance request allowing the new hospital to exceed its original number of stories. Haney told the members of the council that a variance would better align with growth projections for the site.

“As this project has developed, we are exceeding the seven-story limit just with the first project. What we want to do is ask for three more stories for the future also,” Haney told the council.

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Haney said the variance could enable the site to keep pace with expansion for the next decade. The request is scheduled to be presented to the Paulding Zoning Board of Appeals this month.

Councilmen also discussed a draft of a zoning ordinance for the city. The draft was based on a county model for study purposes, according to City Clerk Cynthia Geyer. City Attorney Glen Stinson urged the council to get an ordinance passed and then work toward fine-tuning it.

The council is also reviewing the ordinance governing taxi businesses in the city limits. Updates to the existing ordinance would adjust rate schedules and all policies with which taxi businesses would need to comply.

Thursday’s meeting also saw councilmen go over a mid-year budget review. Revenues for the remaining four months of the fiscal year were said to be above expected levels, even though the city began the current budget year with an almost $800,000 deficit. The council will meet for its next budget planning session on March 15.

The council is expected to vote tonight on two other items:

  • Submitting an application for the 2012 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant.
  • Sponsoring the 2012 Camp Hornet. Camp Hornet is a seven-week summer program offered to kids in Paulding County.

 

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