- Health insurance broker discussions
- City/County fiber Inter Governmental Agreement
- Cornish Creek WTP expansion
- Electric tariff updates
- "Legacies" filming coordination
- Ordinance regarding city park hours
- Commercial sanitation update
- Assisted in Fiscal Year 2020 PAFR
- Prepared January 4, 2021 City Council meeting agenda, packet and notes
- Fielded 13 phone calls
- Two orders to fix sinkholes in road
- One order to locate and mark water meter
- One order to change out water meter
- Two orders to check for water leaks
- Two orders to shut off water meters
- One order to start water leak repair
- One order to unstop sewer main
Pictured: Mike Murphy and Homer McSwain look for a water valve after it's blown off on New Year's Day
- 11 light orders completed
- 18 LED lights installed
- Two reconnect service orders completed
- One single phase primary pole changed out
- One anchor and guy wire installed
- Seven underground services installed
- Installed a 500 KVA three phase underground transformer
- Installed 200 feet of three phase underground primary
- Installed a collector for meter reading
- Two permanent power installations
- Nine trouble/outage calls
- One drop service for demolition
- One drop service for maintenance
- Two temporary services installed
- One overhead service change out
- Eight right of way orders completed
Pictured: Rennis Bryant and Jeremy Kitchens (on ground) preparing a hole for a primary pole to be set.
- Five emergency leak calls investigated and two repairs completed.
- One inspection and unlock completed.
- Two check meter requests completed.
- Two service calls completed.
- 12 meter stations painted.
- Four regulators on high pressure services were replaced and one protective cage installed.
- Two new services installed.
- One service retired.
Congratulations Carli!
Carlisha “Carli” Robinson was selected as Covington-Newton County 911’s Employee of the Quarter for October – December 2020. Carli is a Communications Technician I and has been employed with the City of Covington since January 2018. Way to go Carli!!
Total CAD Calls Received: 1,620
Total Agency Calls Generated: 1,858
Law Calls Generated: 1,360 (73.20%)
- Covington Police Department - 408 (21.96%)
- Covington Marshal’s Office - 0 (0.00%)
- Newton County Animal Control - 3 (0.16%)
- Newton County Sheriff's Office - 886 (47.69%)
- Oxford Police Department - 22 (1.18%)
- Porterdale Police Department - 41 (2.21%)
Fire Calls Generated: 178 (9.58%)
- Covington Fire Department: 43 (2.31%)
- Newton County Fire Department: 135 (7.27%)
Newton County EMS Calls Generated: 320 (17.22%)
PATROL
- On December 28, CPD officers responded to Magnolia Heights Apartments in reference to a family fight between a male and female. During an argument, the male slapped and punched the female multiple times causing visible swollen knots on her forehead and an abrasion on her nose. This was done in front of 2 children. The male had already left the scene and was later located by Newton County Sheriff’s Office at his mom’s house. He was arrested and charged with battery (Family Violence Act), criminal trespass and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree.
- On December 28, CPD officers responded to Collier Street in reference to a disturbance. The house was being rented by a male. The male became angry with his girlfriend resulting in him kicking a door in the residence down and breaking multiple windows. The male was issued a criminal trespass citation for damages to the building. The owner of the home allowed the male tenant to pay for the damages.
- On December 31, CPD officers received a Flock alert on a stolen vehicle traveling north on Alcovy Road. The vehicle was located in the Hometown Studios parking lot. A female passenger was located inside the vehicle in the passenger seat. The vehicle was confirmed stolen out of Dalton, Georgia. The female also had warrants out of Dalton for vehicle theft. She was transported to jail and the vehicle was taken to the CPD’s impound lot pending pick up by the Dalton Police Department. CID Det. Pierce was notified and he followed up with the case.
- On January 1, CPD officers responded to the Super 8 on Alcovy Road in reference to a family fight between a male and female. During the argument, the male began to hit the female causing bleeding and other visible markings. The male was arrested and charged with battery.
- On January 1, CPD officers responded to Nixon Circle in reference to an accident with a pedestrian. Following an argument and fight amongst a large crowd, a male drove his vehicle into two people resulting in a female sustaining two broken legs and a male suffered an injured foot.
- On January 2, CPD officers responded to a traffic offense coming off I-20 at Turner Lake Road. Callers stated the vehicle was swerving and driving off the roadway and then driving the wrong way on the off ramp. Officers met with the driver after her vehicle got stuck on a concrete divider. The female was disoriented and would not cooperate with officers. She also refused to be transported by EMS to be treated at the hospital. The female would not give any emergency contact information so after receiving citations, she was taken to her residence in a patrol unit and her vehicle was impounded.
- On January 2, CPD officers responded to the hospital where a female was combative with hospital staff and scratched a security guard. She was arrested for disorderly conduct and battery.
CID
CID Sgt. Allan Seebaran examined Person Crimes and Property Crimes CID detectives worked for December 28, 2020 to January 3, 2021 and compared them with the previous two years. He found the following results:
PERSON CRIMES
From December 28, 2018 – January 3, 2019, there were 11 reported person crimes; from December 28, 2019 - January 3, 2020, there were eight reported person crimes; and from December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021, there were eight reported person crimes. For this time period, the statistics were as follows:
- There was a 27% decrease (from 11 to eight) in reported person crimes from 2018/2019 to 2019/2020.
- There was no change (eight) in reported person crimes from 2019/2020 to 2020/2021.
- There was a 27% decrease (from 11 to eight) in reported person crimes from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021.
PROPERTY CRIMES
From December 28, 2018 – January 3, 2019, there were 13 reported property crimes; from December 28, 2019 - January 3, 2020, there were 19 reported property crimes; and from December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021, there were 15 reported property crimes. For this time period, the statistics were as follows:
- There was a 46% increase (from 13 to 19) in reported property crimes from 2018/2019 to 2019/2020.
- There was a 21% decrease (from 19 to 15) in reported property crimes from 2019/2020 to 2020/2021.
- There was a 15% increase (from 13 to 15) in reported property crimes from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021.
SUPPORT SERVICES
Officers Couch, Fincher and Flowers have successfully completed week one of the FTO Training which involved tactical training. Officers Fincher and Flowers will report to A/B rotation and Officer Couch will report to C/D rotation.
OPERATIONS
ACCReDITATION
- Processed tag letter for firefighter
- Compiled and submitted info for weekly report
- Approved purchase orders and invoices in BS&A
- Reviewed departmental policies in Lexipol
- Began processing tech rescue response times for Jan/Feb 2020 for ACR
ACCOUNTING
Check out the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) as well as the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020 by selecting the links below.
- Staff entered 19 invoices for payment to vendors.
- The city issued 23 checks for 28 invoices.
- Accounting Department entered 71 journal entries to record transactions of the city.
- Staff sent 29 invoices to customers for miscellaneous transactions.
- The city issued 542 checks to employees for the bi-weekly payroll, retirees and elected officials.
- Finalized annual audit report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 and submitted the report to the Government Finance Officers Association for consideration of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
- Finalized the annual Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 and submitted the report to the Government Finance Officers Association for consideration of the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award.
- Submitted the Report of Local Government Finances to the Department of Community Affairs.
- Submitted the E-911 Expenditure Certification to the GA Department of Audits and Accounts.
- Submitted the Annual Survey of Local Government Finances for the Covington Parking Authority and Downtown Development Authority to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Submitted the e-verify Immigration Title 13 and Title 36 reports to the Department of Audits and Accounts for the City of Covington, the Downtown Development Authority, Covington Redevelopment Authority and the Covington Parking Authority.
- Submitted the Annual Authority Registration and Financial Reporting (AARF) to the Department of Community Affairs for the Downtown Development Authority, the Covington Development Authority, the Covington Parking Authority, the Covington Redevelopment Authority and the Covington Airport Authority.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Total transactions completed by CSR's: 1,620
UTILITY BILLING/METER READING
- 165 work orders completed
- Seven meter/ert change outs
- 48 Tantalus meters changed
- Read route cycles 1, 2, 10, 9 and 91
- 7, 601 meter readings
PURCHASING
- Total purchase orders issued – current month - 31
- Total purchase orders issued – current budget year - 1,926
Current / Upcoming RFP's/Bids
- Central Park Master Plan RFP: Out for bid
- Cricket Frog Trestle Bridge: Out for Bid
- Downtown District Traffic and Parking Study: Out for Bid
- Alcovy Road/Town Center Boulevard Signal Plan: Out for Bid
MUNICIPAL COURT
- There were no in-person court proceedings.
- 32 new citations were processed and filed in the court.
- Eight tickets were disposed of and closed.
- A total of $4,458.00 in fines and fees were collected from mail, web, probation and in-person counter payments.
- There were four open record requests, four certified disposition requests and one warrant dismissal processed.
- A total of 201 separate case files for the week were scanned into Courtware Software.
- The office has received 144 emails and responded to internal and external customers accordingly.
- There were 79 calls made and received from telephone customers.
- Mailed out 175+ packets with solicitor’s recommendation for entering a plea.
- Met with judge and solicitor regarding future court proceedings and office operations.
Upcoming Events
Holiday: MLK Day observed on Monday, January 18, 2021
LAST WEEK'S TASKS & EVENTS
- Met with employees that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (FMLA paperwork)
- 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 new employees
- Observed one holiday: New Year’s Day on Friday, January 1, 2021
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
- Job descriptions review with open positions
Current Job Postings
- Meter Reader
- Firefighter
- Gas Equipment Operator
- Water/Sewer Crew Supervisor
- Completed the updating of Discover Covington signage
- Installed new bike rack in downtown Covington
- Finalized façade grant summaries for upcoming DDA meeting
- Compiled information and created the Weekly Report for the week ending December 27, 2020
- Updated website and social media
- Completion and submission of state numbers for month end (December)
- Finalization of numbers and year end reports for state submission
- Continue to work on finalization of outdoor Welcome Center signage
- Continued work on brochure assessment for 2021
- Preliminary strategies for utilizing mid-level of Welcome Center as extension of film display
COVID-19 STATISTICS
The transition from 2020 to 2021 has not meant a decrease in COVID-19 cases. In fact, COVID-19 positivity cases are considered in the "red" in 79.9% of Georgia counties which means there's a greater than 10% PCR positivity rate in the county.
The Georgia Department of Public Health's statistics for December 24, 2020 to January 6, 2021 are as follows:
NEWTON COUNTY
- Confirmed cases to date: 5,086
- Percent of positive tests in the 14-day period: 23.2%
- Number of tests in previous 14-days: 3,081
- Newton County is considered a "high transmission" county
As of January 11, the confirmed number of positive COVID-19 cases in Georgia reached 620,160. There were 45,041 confirmed cases between January 2 and January 8 in the state of Georgia.