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Home My Public Portal About201301Newsletter.docJanuary Events January 1 New Year’s Day – City Offices Closed January 2 9 AM Butler Ave Sidewalk Construction Q&A – Visit City Hall to discuss concerns and questions with the project contractor January 2 7 - 8 PM Citizens’ Tuesday with the City Manager – Wednesday again, due to the holiday! Call 472-5072 to make appointment January 8 10 AM Parking Committee – City Hall Auditorium January 8 11 AM Bicycle Friendly Committee – City Hall Auditorium January 8 6 – 8 PM Mayor’s Night In – call 472-5080 to make an appointment January 10 5 PM Infrastructure Committee – City Hall Auditorium January 10 6:30 PM Council Meeting - Consent agenda at 6:30, full meeting at 7 until business complete January 15 7 PM Planning Commission – City Hall Auditorium January 16 7 PM Better Hometown Board – City Hall Auditorium January 17 11:30 AM Beach Task Force – City Hall Auditorium January 21 4:30 PM Community Resource Committee – City Hall Auditorium January 21 6 PM Historic Preservation Commission – City Hall Auditorium January 21 Martin Luther King Holiday – City Offices Closed January 24 No Council Meeting! – Council will be meeting our representatives in Atlanta Basketball & cheerleading registration is open & practice starts week of January 3rd. Please contact the Tybee YMCA for more information 786-9622. Rising TYde Food Pantry is in need of: canned fruit, canned meat, rice, grits, soup, jelly and peanut butter. Distribution is third Tuesday each month. View the City Calendar at www.cityoftyee.org for a listing of all City and non-profit events. Business Registration Fees Due Zoning and Planning has mailed the 2013 Business Registration forms to all businesses registered in 2012. If you are starting a new business, be sure to see Sharon Shaver at City Hall to obtain your business license. All business registration forms and fees must be filed by March 31. Fines will be levied beginning April 1. All businesses with 10 employees or more should be aware that Federal regulations will require all employees be checked for legal residency in the government’s eVerify system beginning July 1, 2013. You will usually need some training or to hire a consultant to become compliant and use the eVerify system. Start at https://e-verify.uscis.gov/enroll/ to find more details. Senior Utility Fee Discounts The City of Tybee Island has a deadline to apply for the Senior Homestead Exemption Water & Sewer Rate by April 30th. To qualify, you must: be age 62 or older; apply for your Tybee home which must be your primary, owned residence; have combined yearly household income under $30,000; provide written proof of income (tax return from previous year); and, apply before the deadline. Applications are available at the City Hall Cashier’s office or under the Forms link on the City website. Discounts for water and trash are provided to qualified homes. Seniors with these same qualifications, though with a maximum of a $25,000 income, can apply for a school tax exemption on Chatham County taxes. This is a COUNTY exemption, so you must contact the office of the Tax Assessor to make your application before March 1st per county requirements. Visit “Facts Every Taxpayer Should Know”, http://boa.chathamcounty.org/Portals/BoardofAssess ors/FACTSHEET.pdf. The Board of Assessors contact regarding exemption information is at (912) 447-4856 or http://www.chathamcounty.org/assessor.html. New Flood Insurance Legislation The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 requires FEMA to eliminate flood insurance subsidies and change how the program operates. Rates on almost all buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) will be revised to reflect full flood risks. All of Tybee Island is located in a SFHA. On January 1, 2013, flood insurance rates for some older non-primary residences in SFHAs that receive subsidized rates based on their pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map status will increase by 25% a year until they reflect the full-risk rate (http://bsa.nfipstat.fema.gov/wyobull/2012/w-12043.pdf). The NFIP will begin eliminating subsidized premiums for other buildings August 1, 2013: (http://www.nfipiservice.com/Stakeholder/pdf/bulletin/w-12109.pdf). Council and Commission Meetings Online For those of you without Comcast, Council and Planning Commission Meetings are now online. Meetings will be uploaded to http://cityoftybee.pegcentral.com, which can take several hours, so each meeting will be available the next morning - sorry, no live streaming! Selected content will be made available from our cable schedule. Please drop us comment at feedback@cityoftybee.org. Unpaid Utility Bills Will Result in Water Shutoff! The Water Dept will begin strictly enforcing the cut procedures, as of January, 2013, per current Ordinance (section 70-38), which states water service may be discontinued whenever total billing for water, sewer, and sanitation services (if included) is not paid in full at the city cashiers office on the due date. Bills are due the 20th each month, and declared delinquent 25 days following date of billing. A late charge of $15.00 will be charged. This gives a few days after the due date to pay before delinquent accounts face shut off. When service is discontinued due to delinquency, it shall not be restored until the delinquent bill is paid in full, including the late fee. A flat fee of $35.00 shall be charged when service is resumed after normal working hours: M-F, 8a-4p. Sidewalk Construction on Butler, 14th St to Tybrisa, Begins Jan 2 The sidewalks will be getting an upgrade similar to that on Tybrisa and the Strand to give the entire area the same look. The contractor will be hosting an information session at City Hall on Tuesday, January 2, beginning at 9am. Please plan to attend to have any concerns or questions addressed. To Address City Council …about existing agenda items, please ask to be recognized during public comments. To get on the agenda, file an Agenda Request with the City Clerk by noon, Wednesday, eight days prior to the Meeting! Council meets 2nd & 4th Thursday, 7PM, each month. Visit City Hall or our web site for a copy of the form. If you are speaking or presenting to Council, please be aware you must provide a copy of your presentation 48 hours in advance to the Clerk or to IT staff at City Hall! Other City Communications - Watch us on Comcast Public Access Channel 7 - The “City Newsletter” link on the City’s web site - Send general email to feedback@cityoftybee.org! - Look for City of Tybee on Facebook and Twitter - Sign up for “Citizens Alert” on our web page - At www.cityoftybee.org, pages and searches support RSS for automatic notification of any content updates.