Pendergrass amends $18,000 budget shortfall
The Pendergrass City Council voted unanimously to amend the 2008 budget by $18,212 last week due to shortfalls.
“We spent $18,000 more than we took in,” city administrator Rob Russell said. “We were under budget, but we were $12,000 over in gasoline for the patrol cars.”
Russell said the remaining $6,212 was due to other minor budget shortfalls.
Russell said with the economic downturn, some of the income the city had expected under the 2008 budget didn’t come in.
“We were just short some of the income we thought we were going to get.”
The money to cover the shortfalls came from the city’s reserve fund.
Russell said the remaining $6,212 was due to other minor budget shortfalls.
Russell said with the economic downturn, some of the income the city had expected under the 2008 budget didn’t come in.
“We were just short some of the income we thought we were going to get.”
The money to cover the shortfalls came from the city’s reserve fund.
Defined tags for this entry: pendergrass
corruption beginning with the chief and his assistants they all hide each others dirt including monk tolbert. I would have to ask why do they need a revenue dept. Pendergrass may have 400 people wow....
They give the good officers a bad name just being the way
they are. They like sleeping with other peoples wives behind their backs. If the GBI would audit the expenses a little better they would catch what a lot of the pleasure expenses are.So I guess to warn everyone driving through this LITTLE town be on the lookout cause their revenue is down.......
If the law is broken, then do your job, which includes professionalism.
It is expected that a driver will not be jumping for joy when he/she gets stopped. Whether it be for speeding, tint, exhaust or some other violation, but it does not give an officer the right to treat them like they aren’t human beings (which happens constantly in this little city.) It also does not give them the right to put those drivers in danger while citing them for their violation.
I have an example of the idiotism in this city. I know for a fact that Bill has stopped several vehicles and while in the process of writing a ticket (in his vehicle) another vehicle passes not abiding by the “move over” law…a $500.00 ticket. Bill has then pulled beside the 1st offending vehicle, stopped in the roadway, rolled down his passenger window and demanded that the driver take their ticket…this is so that he can go stop the 2nd offending vehicle.
In order for most regular built people, the driver must begin exiting their vehicle in order to reach the ticket that Bill is violently shaking at them. One day when he pulls this stunt, another car will not abide by the “move over” law and in turn smash into Bill’s patrol car causing injury to him and most likely the driver he is demanding to exit their vehicle to get their ticket from him.
Yes, vehicle number two broke the law, but is a $500.00 ticket that much more important than the safety of the officer and the first driver…Safety, that’s why they were pulled over in the first place right, to keep Pendergrass safe…not to bring in revenue??? The “move over” law was written to help keep public safety officials out of danger, but this city has turned it into a law suit waiting to happen…but wait, they can do what they want because Mr. Russell and Mr. Tolbert are attorneys, so who’s going to try to mess with them? The revenue coming in because of these officers is the only thing keeping their jobs. The Pendergrass government would go under if it weren't for their “questionable traffic stops.”
This city is riddled with backwoods politics more so than most others in Jackson county...Monk Tolbert, Mayor; Scott Tolbert, City Judge; Rob Russell, Police Chief and City Manager, who also does work out of Scott Tolbert's Law Firm. This screams conflict of interest...but no one seems to care. If you can honestly "proudly live in Pendergrass" then hooray for you, but your lack of concern for what is going on says that you could care less that these clowns are making a circus of your city.
Now, to reply. I see exactly what you are talking about. I am not blind, nor an idiot. It is right in front of everyone's eyes. I believe there is a lot of conflicting interest going on. Let's not forget that Mr. Russell is also a part of Nicholson's City govenerment which has taken a lot of heat since his arrival. And why not throw in the current lawsuit involving Mr. Tolbert, Mr. Russell, Mr. Crumley, a former officer, and the City itself. All of this adds up to make a very horrible gorvernment for the people. But let's not forget who made it. Bottom line is Mr. Russell does all the dirty work for the city. He allows and encourages the officers to conduct their business in the manner in which they do. He is given a job by the mayor. The mayor does not seem to want to stop or seems concerned by his actions. Honestly, maybe he's blind to it. Maybe he's in on it... Maybe he needs someone like that to do what he can't.... Either way, Mr. Russell would not have a job without the Mayor. And who's running intervention? No one. For as long as I can remember, no one has ran aginst Mr. Tolbert. He's ran unopposed. SO, as long as the people keep allowing it, it will still happen. And, no one from Pendergrass ever voices their concerns. How many people, on average, other than city officials, do you think show up to the city council meetings? 4. Four people think our city and it's government are important. Those four people may or may not want change, but at least they care enough to show up.
I, too, have been a vitim of Mr. Gardner's antics. Our own sherrif's office thinks our officers are jokes. To be honest, everyone does. It doesn't have to be that way. They are just doing their jobs as they are told to do them. Maybe if they had more sturcture, rules, or even decent role models, things might change. But, it all starts at the top.
So, please, find your neighbors, relatives, fellow church members who might live in Pendergrass, and encourage them to change things for all of us.
I assure you that if I were a resident of Pendergrass, or Nicholson, I would be the 1st in line to keep them out! You may be right, Monk Tolbert may have a blind eye, or he may be involved. Who knows? I do know that at one point in Mr. Russell’s law enforcement career, he was a good man. I think greed has gotten the best of him and for that any city he is involved with suffers.
Yes, Russell is involved with Nicholson as were/are some of his former employees. It is beyond me why any city, seeing how Pendergrass is now such a mess, would allow these same people the chance to govern them in the first place. Maybe it is a lack of knowledge, maybe they just don’t care.
As far as the lawsuit goes...I was unaware, put am proud that someone decided to stand for what they believe in; however, knowing the defendants and not knowing the basis of the lawsuit, I wonder if it will go anywhere or change anything.
This world is going crazy, and people in power must be kept in check. They are here to protect and serve, but it seems as if they are doing the opposite. Pendergrass needs to stand up, speak out and begin making their government answer to the public, not themselves.