MARSHALLVILLE, Ga. — Marshallville still has no 2024 budget even after a meeting that was supposed to resolve the problem Tuesday.
The city council decided not to take action because they say the numbers still don't add up. It was a vote at the end of the meeting that brings the city's legal troubles back into full view.
The last order of business Tuesday was a 3-2 council vote to take Mayor Al Lane back to court. In March, a Macon County Superior Court judge ruled the mayor may not make a unilateral decision for a year.
That came after the mayor purchased a nearly $123,000 backhoe without the council's approval. The mayor says the council didn't show up to the first few meetings of 2022, so he decided to resolve it himself. Still, Judge Jimmie Brown ruled Lane violated his duties as mayor.
Now, the council wants to remove Lane from office. The motion and vote took less than a minute.
"He continues to ignore the city charter as if it does not exist at all," said Council Member Betty Rackley.
Tuesday's meeting was supposed to resolve a year's worth of budget shortfalls. Friday, 13WMAZ reported the city ran a $163,355.31 budget deficit from April 2022 to March 2023.
"We are at least $100,000 or better in terms of balancing the budget," Mayor Lane confirmed.
The council couldn't vote on a budget Tuesday for two reasons: There isn't a balanced budget proposal yet, and the proposal must run in the paper for a week before the vote. Council members looked at the budget committee's proposal Tuesday night, which involves terminating five staff members, and cutting hours for several others.
Still, it's not enough to cover the deficit. Mayor Lane pledged to create his own budget, but hasn't presented it yet.
As for the last order of business at Tuesday's meeting, the court vote, Lane says he wasn't shocked.
"I wasn't surprised. I was looking forward to it, because like I told you, it's personal. I told you, it's personal," he said.
It's not clear when the next court date will be, but the mayor says until then, he's going to keep serving the city. That includes coming up with a budget that works for everyone.
Lane says he believes the budget deficit comes from the police department. According to a February profit and loss report, the police department made a $130,088.53 'equipment purchase' during FY23. The report does not detail what the equipment is, but it was not planned in this year's budget.
A budget workshop document outlining the city's general fund from April 2022 to March 2023 shows the police department was $138,727.46 over budget during that time.
The city must have a budget passed by the end of the month. The budget committee will go back to work trying to balance the numbers Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the police department. Lane says he plans to present his own budget Thursday.