The City of Andalusia had a banner year, financially speaking, in fiscal year ending 2014.
That’s the message CPA Ken Odom delivered with Rabren, Odom, Pierce and Hayes’ audit of the city’s finances for the most recent fiscal year. Odom said the city is in a “sound financial position,” and echoed previous comments he made that increasing city sales taxes in 2013 was the right thing to do.
Highlights included:
• Total general fun revenues of $16.9 million, or $2.1 million more than the previous year. The 2014 fiscal year was the first full year of a new city sales tax. Taxes collected by the city actually increased by $2.8 million, but that number was offset because the city collected less monies for licenses and permits, and fines and forfeitures.
• At the same time, the city cut general fund spending by $933,511.
• In 2014, $1.75 million of debt was retired.
City Clerk John Thompson explained that the council has set a goal of having a reserve fund of at least 15 percent of annual expenditures, or $2 to $2.5 million.
“At the end of 2014, the city had in excess of $2.5 million in unrestricted cash,” Thompson wrote in the management letter accompanying the audit. “While not all of this amount was able to be set aside as a reserve fund, the city continues to improve its cash position and anticipates a substantial increase by the end of fiscal year 2015.”
Mayor Earl Johnson echoed those comments.
“Halfway in to 2015, we are looking even better,” Johnson said. “A lot of work has been done.”
In his management letter, Johnson wrote, “By conservative estimate, Andalusia has witnessed an unprecedented level of level of reinvestment, $225 million, both public and private, in infrastructure and strategic improvements, since 2000. This represents an effort to rebuild Andalusia with improvements in streets, sidewalks, schools, ball fields, parks, cultural arts facilities, high efficiency manufacturing equipment, office space, aerospace infrastructure, health care service, retail and other commercial applications.”
Johnson said the reinvestment signals a commitment to the future, and demonstrates that private investors re confident in the leadership and direction of the city.
The council’s bold decision in 2013 to increase sales taxes has paid off, he wrote.
“By the end of FY 2014, we had enough in our reserves to pay for our match for the South Three Notch Street Project, and contributed more than $1 million to Andalusia City Schools to complete new Junior High School and sixth grade buildings on the Andalusia High School and Andalusia Elementary School campuses,” he wrote.
Johnson told council members Tuesday that all of the plans for the South Three Notch project are in the ALDOT division office in Troy, and will soon be forwarded to Montgomery.
“What has held it up, is we were trying to get a piece of right-of-way we needed,” he said. “It will be a nicer finished project than it would have been without it.”
By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News
Andalusia Star News
Andalusia Elementary students Marion Starnes (left at camera), Amanda Majors (at table) and Drew Seymore (far right) get ready to go on air Thursday morning. | Andrew Garner/Star-News
Andalusia Elementary fifth graders Drew Seymore and Amanda Majors get their cue and the broadcast begins.
Seymore and Majors are the lead anchors for the WAES Morning News, a broadcast TV station based in the elementary school.
For more than two months, talented and gifted (TAG) students in grades 3-5 have been delivering the news via closed circuit TV to students in grades K-5.
“The kids do it all,” AES fifth grade teacher and sponsor, Barbara Peek said. “I’m just a whip cracker.”
Peek, who has been playing the roles of director and producer for the small TV station, helps write the script for each day’s broadcast. Every afternoon, the on-camera personality goes through a rehearsal.
Majors and Seymore get right to work reading the script for Thursday morning’s airing. Peek chimes in with cues to either slow down their pace or when to pause for background music.
During yesterday’s news, WAES paid tribute — as it does often — to Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame because it was his birthday. The team also wishes happy birthdays to students and teachers in the school. Third grader Emmy Mixson told the school about Nimoy.
Peek said the station does it all — news, birthdays, weather and sports.
“The weather report is here because teachers asked for it,” she said. “We asked teachers what they’d like to see on WAES Morning News.”
Peek said some other suggestions included what’s on the menu for lunch, giving a famous quote and others.
In addition to the on-air talent, WAES has students working a mixer, soundboard, cameras and the teleprompter. A mixer changes the different cameras during the broadcast, a soundboard controls the background music and... READ MORE>
Andalusia Star News
Andalusia Star News
ER personnel shown, (front row, from left) include DeAnna Donaldson, Emergency Department Director Amy Herrington, Steve Marcotte, Chief Clinical Officer Melissa Davis, and Sonya Syler; (back row) Dr. Mark Griffin, medical director of the ER, Dr. Rick Roller, CEO Steve Selzer, and John Elms.
About 18 months ago, Dr. Mark Griffin, medical director of the emergency room at Andalusia Regional Hospital, made a bold statement.
Griffin, who had just learned that his ER ranked 16th of 19 similarly-sized hospitals within Lifepoint, its parent organization, said ARH would be ranked No. 1 by April of 2015.
Based on numbers released last week, the Andalusia emergency department has already met that goal. The designation is based upon how quickly patients get in and out of the emergency room, core measures based on national standards, and patient satisfaction scores.
“Our physicians, mid-levels and staff worked very, very hard on that goal, and as of Dec. 31, 2014, we earned the top designation,” ARH Emergency Department Director Amy Herrington said. “We had to look at our processes for getting patients back here to see physicians and providers quickly. Our goal is for them not to sit out in the waiting room.”
More specifically, the goal is to get patients in and out of the ER in 114 minutes. At present, they are exceeding the goal with an average of 109 minutes per patient.
To do that, the staff has changed protocols. For instance, if someone presents with an ankle injury, he or she is taken straight to radiology. That way, when they see a physician in the ER, that doctor already has the test results needed for treatment... READ MORE>
By Michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News
The Andalusia Ballet will present its Spring Ballet Concert at 7:30 p.m. this Fri., March 27, at the Dixon Center for the Performing Arts.
Andalusia Ballet’s company dancers will perform a mix of classical and contemporary pieces. Les Sylphides, Etudes, and A Western Tale. Tickets are $15 and are available at the Andalusia Ballet, at andalusiaballet.com, and at the door.
By Andrew Garner
Andalusia Star News
The Andalusia City Council took another step toward the expansion of city sidewalks down Prestwood Bridge Road, when it agreed Tuesday to let bids for the project.
Alabama Department of Transportation notified the city in late 2013 that it had been awarded $382,206 Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant for the sidewalk project. The city will be required to provide 20 percent matching funds for the project, and pay design and engineering fees.
Civil Southeast Engineering has completed the engineering work, which has been approved by the state. Bids are being let with two possible alternates, which the council can add if it can afford to do so.
As drawn by Civil Southeast, the project as bid would extend the sidewalk from Dunson Street, across the bypass, and down Prestwood Bridge Road to the intersection of Cedar Road. The base project also extends sidewalks between Dunson and Church Street on Snowden Drive, and extends the sidewalk on Church Street to Snowden.
The first bid alternate continues the sidewalk from Cedar Drive to Rosewood Lane (previously called Blueberry Hill). The second bid alternate puts a sidewalk from Church Street and Snowden to the bypass.
Councilwoman Hazel Griffin expressed her discontent that the base bid did not include a sidewalk for the portion of Prestwood Bridge Road between Cedar Drive and Rosewood Lane.
In other business, the council:
• Accepted the low bid for a new shredder for the recycling center for $36,989.
• Approved a special event alcohol license to the National Wild Turkey Federation for a fundraising event.
• Heard an update from Bob Young of Frazier Lanier on a plan to refinance two city bond issues at an expected savings of more than $250,000.
• Agreed to contribute $2,500 to the LBW Foundation for its golden anniversary gala fundraiser.
By michele Gerlach
Andalusia Star News