Council Will Discuss Mayoral Staff Funding

An amendment has been brought forward that would strip the mayor's office of the funding necessary to maintain administrative staff.

The Canton City Council will get its first look at two amendments involving the controversial removal of the mayor's full-time staff members during their first meeting of 2013 on Thursday evening. The first ordinance on the agenda has been submitted by Mayor Gene Hobgood and seeks to explicitly allow mayors of Canton to appoint an administrative assistant persuant to City Council approval. The assistant would report directly to the mayor, but would be available to assist council members on an as-needed basis. A second ordinance has been submitted by Councilman John Beresford and Councilman Bill Bryan that would modify the city's budget to remove funding for the mayor's current administrative assistant position. The amendment will remove $…

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Mayor Invites Public to Town-Hall

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. tonight at City Hall.

Start thinking about those questions you'd like to ask Mayor Gene Hobgood and members of the Canton City Council at tonight's 'Let's Talk About Canton' town-hall meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 151 Elizabeth St. Here's coverage from last year's town-hall meeting:  Don’t miss any of the local news you care about. Subscribe to Canton-Sixes Patch’s free newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Daily PatchCast

PatchCast: Voter Registration Deadline Is Feb. 6

Here are some of the highlights from Canton-Sixes and nearby Patches for Jan. 30.

For more on these stories, click on the links below:

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'Not Canton's Finest Year'

Here is the text of Mayor Gene Hobgood's State of the City address, which he delivered during Thursday's City Council meeting.

2011 was not Canton's finest year. The year was dominated in the media by embarrassing water billing problems and of course the tragic murder of an innocent child. Hopefully we are getting past both these events now. Beyond these difficulties of 2011, progress was made in a number of areas.  Discussion concerning our reservoir debt and potential improvements to our water and sewer system continued this past year with little progress. But the foundation may have been laid for progress in the upcoming months. We have made some headway in our discussion with Cherokee Water and Sewer Authority concerning the possibility of a merger of our water and sewer systems. The direction we take will be a decision of this council in the next few short …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Rush Responds to Mayor

"Since, our (self) esteemed Mayor is questioning leadership perhaps we should look at what has occurred under his," Canton City Council member Bob Rush wrote.

Editor's note: Tension is growing after Mayor Gene Hobgood sent a letter critical of the current council to residents in the Laurel Canyon and River Green communities. Hobgood is running unopposed for a second term as mayor, but a Facebook campaign to get Council member Bob Rush on the Nov. 8 ballot as a write-in candidate has taken shape. Today, Rush sent this letter to Canton-Sixes Patch. An Open Letter to Canton Residents Recently, Mayor Hobgood, sent to Canton voters, under the guise of a campaign letter, a blatant bid for more POWER to the Mayor’s office. He cites a need for it due to a lack of leadership from the City Council. In my opinion, Canton is in its current state because too much authority has been ceded to former mayors by…

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Meeting Subject of AG Complaint

The Georgia Attorney General's Office is looking into a Canton woman's complaint that residents weren't given proper notice of an Oct. 4 emergency meeting.

A Canton woman has filed a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General's Office, alleging that the city violated the state's Open Meetings Act when it didn't provide sufficient notice of an Oct. 4 emergency meeting to discuss ongoing water billing problems. "There was no public notice what-so-ever placed in or around Canton City Hall where the meeting was to take place," Ursula Cox wrote in her letter to the AG's office. "I inspected the building carefully as did a Canton City Council member prior to the 5:15pm Oct. 4 meeting. There was no notice posted anywhere much less 24 hours in advance." According to language in the Open Meetings Act, meetings can be held with less than 24 hours notice as long as notice is given to the legal organ or…

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'It's Our Fault'

A switch to a new billing system has resulted in erroneous water bills and revealed years of flaws. One resident received a bill for $69,521.16 on Saturday.

The mayor has called a special meeting at City Hall to address continued water billing issues. Saturday, one resident received a bill for more than $69,000. As reported in August, former chief financial officer Scott Price told the council that 700 city utility customers received erroneous water bills after the city converted to a new billing system. Follow our live updates here.

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Resident Receives $69K Water Bill

A switch to a new billing system has resulted in erroneous water bills and revealed years of flaws.

Canton resident Fred Rehrig didn't think anything could top the $68,000 water bill he received in June. Saturday, he opened his latest statement. According to the bill, he owes the city of Canton $69,521.16. "Just as we did not use 9.8 million gallons of water in June, we have not used 202,580 gallon since then," he said in an email to City Manager Scott Wood. "Our typical monthly use varies between about 3,00 and 9,000 gallons." Since August, when the city's former chief financial officer revealed a glitch that has resulted in hundreds of erroneous water bills, officials have said they would work to correct the hiccup. But new stories like Rehrig's have convinced Mayor Gene Hobgood to call an emergency meeting Tuesday night to make sure …

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Businessman Withdraws From Race for Canton Mayor

"It's just really bad timing for us right now," said Doug Williams, the chief executive officer of 23½ HR Locksmith Security Co.

A day after filing paperwork to run for mayor, local businessman Doug Williams withdrew from the race today. "It's just really bad timing for us right now," said Doug Williams, the chief executive officer of 23½ HR Locksmith Security Co., 571 Main St. Without elaborating, he hung up on a Canton-Sixes Patch reporter. City clerk Coty Ervin confirmed this afternoon that Williams dropped out this morning. "No explanation," she said. It's not clear if Williams' name will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot with the eight other people—four incumbents and four challengers—who qualified this week. With today's development, Mayor Gene Hobgood will enter a second term without opposition. "I haven't seen anything officially," the mayor said. All this week, …

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