Toccoa City Commission Holds Regular Meeting

The city of Toccoa will once again be a Georgia Municipal Association City of Ethics.

At its meeting on Monday, the Toccoa City Commission voted unanimously to re-certify as a Georgia Municipal Association City of Ethics.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said cities who have this designation are required to recertify every four years.

Morse said the GMA started the City of Ethics program in 1999 with the help of business and government leaders in an effort to encourage cities to adopt and adhere to a set of ethical principles and adopt a local ethics ordinance.

“In adopting the ordinance, the city has provided a local forum to examine charges of unethical conduct so that issues are aired by citizens through their local government,” said Morse. “In recent years, the GMA began requiring cities with that designation to re-certify the program to ensure that city officials are regularly reminded of their ethical obligations as individuals and as a governing body.”

Morse said recognition of this re-certification will come in January.

Also Monday, Toccoa City Commissioners voted unanimously to change two meeting dates in the coming months to adjust to the holiday schedule.

City commissioners voted to change the November 23 meeting to November 17 and the December 28 meeting to December 21.

Finally, city commissioners received their monthly financial report on Monday.

In that report, Toccoa Finance Director Cathy Loudermilk said that the city has about $236,000 more operating cash as of September 30 of this year than it did at the same time a year ago.

Loudermilk did say that the current fiscal year budget is showing a deficit of more than $671,000.

However, she said that number will improve in the coming months as property tax revenue comes in and gas sales increase due to colder weather.