George City Council considers security agreement

GEORGE — The George City Council discussed, but did not decide on, a novel offer from the Port of Quincy at its monthly meeting Tuesday evening.

The proposal is an interlocal agreement between the city and the Port, said Mayor Gerene Nelson in a separate interview Thursday. Under the agreement, the Port would supply six hours a day of security service to the city, to stave off graffiti, petty theft and the like. The Port has started to offer security services to businesses within the port district, but this would be the first such agreement with a municipality.

“Nobody else has done that,” Nelson said. “So we're the guinea pigs, and that's part of my hesitancy. I need to make sure everything is carefully done.”

The issue is paying for it, explained City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman. The Port’s current proposal would cost $102,000 for the year, he said. The city has two funds that might be applicable to the service, but whether state law will allow them to be earmarked that way is in question. Nelson has been working with the state treasury department to ascertain the legality, she said.

“It's about specific earmarked government funds that come to the city,” Zimmerman said. “What can they be used for? Why did we get this revenue stream? And what is it tied to? And I'm not an expert on that.”

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the city currently has no clerk-treasurer. Nelson has only been in office since January, and the previous clerk-treasurer retired in August 2022 after more than 20 years of service, she said. The city is currently looking for a replacement, she added.

“Had we had a clerk-treasurer, we would just ask them, and they would have said, Yeah, this is what we got for these two accounts, and this is what they're tied to,” Zimmerman said.

The proposal was sent to the city April 13, so there hadn’t been much time to research the matter, Nelson said.

The council took care of two items of business at the meeting as well. The decision was made to hold future council meetings at the George Community Hall, and the funds from the city’s hotel and motel tax were disbursed. The George Community Hall received $15,000 for the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration and another $5,000 for the George Bluegrass Festival in September. Another $1,800 was awarded to the Georgettes civic service organization.

Joel Martin can be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.