Employee Spotlight
Sarah Herbert
911 Communications Tech III
- Where were you born? Fulton County Hospital
- What was your first car? 1991 Toyota pickup
- What was your last job before you worked at the city? I worked for my Grandma at a restaurant which is where I met Barney Anglin who told me about dispatch.
- How long have you worked for the city? 16 years
- What is your favorite part about working for the city? The people I work with
- Name one thing you are proud of in your life. Being a mom to my son Kipton
- What is your favorite book and/or movie? Movie "The Wedding Date"
- Where is your ideal vacation spot? Cape San Blas - Port St. Joe, Florida
- What is your favorite food? Tacos
- If you could have dinner with a celebrity dead or alive, who would it be? Pink
- What is your hidden talent? I can walk with my feet turned out to the side.
Board & Committee Member Highlight
Judy McDonald Hooten
Covington Development Authority
Judy McDonald Hooten is a life long resident of Newton County. Judy and her husband, Dennis, owned and operated Hooten Motor Sales for over 40 years, until retiring in2008. Judy was also a partner in H and S Designs in downtown Covington. She has served on several city boards and is active in Covington First Presbyterian Church. Judy loves being involved in our community. Her favorite pastime now is being “Honey” to her 4 grandchildren.
Thank you Judy for your time and passion for Covington!
CONGRATULATIONS ASHLAN WEBB ON Being Accepted into the Public Finance Leadership Academy!
Congratulations to our Assistant Finance Director, Ashlan Webb, for being selected to be a part of the Public Finance Leadership Academy (PFLA). PFLA is presented through a partnership between the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The program is designed to "equip new and emerging public sector financial management leaders with the knowledge they need to successfully manage the fiscal affairs and activities of a local government." Great job Ashlan!
- Completed required cyber training
- Attended WE LEAD teleconference
- Fielded 14 phone calls
Just a reminder to check out ClearGov, optimized for complete accessibility, as defined by the ADA, which provides taxpayers an easy-to-understand, visual breakdown of the city's finances, as well as insights into the demographics and more. Click on the button below to view the City of Covington's ClearGov page.
ACCOUNTING
- Staff entered 61 invoices for payment to vendors
- The city issued 99 checks for 168 invoices
- Accounting Department entered 59 journal entries to record transactions of the city
- Staff sent seven invoices to customers for miscellaneous transactions
- The city issued 313 checks to employees for the bi-weekly payroll
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Total Transactions Completed By Customer Service Representatives: 1,582
UTILITY BILLING / METER READERS
- 4,439 bills processed
- 216 work orders completed
- 21 meter/ert changes
- Read cycles 5, 6, 11 and finals
PURCHASING
• Total purchase orders issued – current month - 230
• Total purchase orders issued – current budget year - 1,856
*CURRENT/UPCOMING RFP'S/BIDS*
- Central Park Master Plan RFP – Out for bid
- Cricket Frog Trestle Bridge – Out for Bid on 12/18/2020
- Downtown District Traffic & Parking Study - Out for Bid on 12/18/2020
- Alcovy Road / Town Center Boulevard Signal Plan - Out for Bid on 12/18/2020
COVINGTON MUNICIPAL COURT
- There were no in-person court proceedings.
- 46 new citations were processed and filed in the court.
- One ticket was disposed of and closed.
- A total of $2,524.00 in fines and fees were collected from mail, web, probation and in-person counter payments.
- There were five open record requests, two certified disposition requests and one warrant dismissal processed.
- A total of 145 separate case files for the week were scanned into Courtware Software.
- The office has received 154 emails and responded to internal and external customers accordingly.
- 123 calls made and received to/from telephone customers.
- Mailed out 50+ packets with solicitor’s recommendation for entering a plea.
- Met with judge and solicitor regarding future court proceedings and office operations.
- Eight trouble/outage calls
- One reconnect service
- Two drop services for maintenance
- One drop service for tree removal
- One low line call
- Two permanent powers
- One temporary power
- 11 light orders completed
- One LED light installed
- Two underground services installed
- Repaired a single phase primary fault
Congratulations to Dalton Chappelear for being promoted to Crew Leader.
- Responded to one emergency leak call.
- Completed one inspection and unlock requests.
- Completed six check meter requests and three ERT’s replaced.
- Completed 11 rectifier inspections.
- Completed 28 cathodic protection pipe to soil readings.
- Completed one inspection and unlock request.
- Two service orders and check meter requests completed.
- Installed one new service.
- Retired two services.
- Repaired 16 minor above ground leaks on meters found during annual leak survey.
- Painted ten meters.
- Two employees took their CDL exams.
- Dalton Chappelear was promoted to Crew Leader.
- Attended APGA Operations and Safety committee meeting.
- Six orders to change out water meter
- One order to set new water meter and ERT
- One order to check water meter
- One order to repair water meter ERT
- Two orders to repair water leak
- One order to locate valve watermain
- Four orders to check for water leak
Pictured: Mark Mealor and Scott Watkins repair a 6-inch water main on Walnut Street.
- One order to catalog old equipment
- One order to put cold patch in sinkhole
- One order to unstop sewer main
- Three orders to check sewer problem
- One order to jet and camera sewer
- One order to camera sewer main and locate tap
- One order to unstop sewer tap
Pictured: Mark Mealor repairs a 2-inch water main on Petty Street
Total CAD Calls Received: 1,703
Total Agency Calls Generated: 1,936
Total Law Calls Generated: 1,460 (75.41%)
- Covington Police Department: 460 (23.76%)
- Covington Marshal's Office: 1 (0.05%)
- Newton County Animal Control: 4 (0.20%)
- Newton County Sheriff's Office: 926 (47.83%)
- Oxford Police Department: 41 (2.11%)
- Porterdale Police Department: 28 (1.44%)
Fire Calls Generated: 189 (9.76%)
- Covington Fire Department: 52 (2.68%)
- Newton County Fire: 137 (7.07%)
NEWTON EMS CALLS: 287 (14.82%)
The Covington Police Department hosted its third annual Operation Candy Cane. Police officers and administrators, along with Santa and Mrs. Anita Turner, helped give out hundreds of candy canes to students at Newton County Theme School. Organized by Sgt. Vince Partee, Operation Candy Cane allows students to see that police officers are approachable, friendly and there to assist, not just in times of trouble.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Christmas Holidays – Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25, 2020
- New Year's Holiday - Friday, January 1, 2021
LAST WEEK'S TASKS AND EVENTS
- Reviewed benefit bills and invoices
- RFP Committee (broker services) finalizing recommendations to present to Council
- Mediated personnel issues
- Brainstorming ideas with City Manager and Asst. City Manager about rising COVID-19 cases
- On-boarded three new employees
- Distributing Patriot mugs to employees who missed the luncheon
ONGOING EVENTS
- Providing quality customer care to our employees and retirees
- Preparing submission for the Weekly Report
- Administrating retirement services for retiree benefits
- Scanning of HR files
- Monitoring the coronavirus pandemic and listening to professionals about proper return to work protocols
- Handling FMLA, Worker’s Compensation and COVID-19 claims
- Scheduling and conducting interviews for vacant position and compiling appropriate documents
- Auditing all employee benefits – invoicing accuracy, vendor satisfaction, etc.
- Posting new positions as vacancies arise
- Prepared job offers for new hires and promoted employees
- Reviewing NovaTime for timekeeping abnormalities
CURRENT JOB POSTINGS
- Water and Sewer Construction Manager
- Meter Reader
- Firefighter
Congratulations to Pace and Poppy for having their official ribbon cutting on Thursday, December 17!
- Began working on year end numbers and reports for state submission
- Compiled punch list for Welcome Center
- Working to get mailbox in place at Welcome Center
- Discussion about future expansion of museum to incorporate larger portion of building and showcase additional props on hand
- Weekly Report creation for the week ending December 13, the Christmas edition
- Updated social media and website
- Hosted Santa and reindeer on the Square
- Facilitated groundbreaking for The Cove at Covington Town Center (pictured below)
- Economic Development Strategy Meeting with ECG
- Attended ribbon cutting of Pace and Poppy
