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Home My Public Portal About201302Newsletter.docFebruary Events February 5 7 - 8 PM Citizens’ Tuesday with the City Manager – Wednesday again, due to the holiday! Call 472-5072 to make appointment February 12 10 AM Parking Committee – City Hall Auditorium February 12 11 AM Bicycle Friendly Committee – City Hall Auditorium February 12 6 – 8 PM Mayor’s Night In – call 472-5080 to make an appointment February 14 5 PM Infrastructure Committee – City Hall Auditorium February 14 6:30 PM Council Meeting - Consent agenda at 6:30, full meeting at 7 until business complete February 18 Presidents’ Day – City Offices Closed February 18 6 PM Historic Preservation Commission – Guard House February 19 7 PM Planning Commission – City Hall Auditorium February 20 7 PM Better Hometown Board – City Hall Auditorium February 21 11:30 AM Beach Task Force – City Hall Auditorium February 25 4:30 PM Community Resource Committee – City Hall Auditorium February 28 5 PM Infrastructure Committee – City Hall Auditorium February 28 6:30 PM Council Meeting - Consent agenda at 6:30, full meeting at 7 until business complete Basketball & cheerleading registration is open & practice starts week of February 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 February 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 cable, 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 let us know what you’d like to see at feedback@cityoftybee.org. Unpaid Utility Bills Will Result in Water Shutoff! The Water Dept will begin strictly enforcing the cut-off procedures, as of February, 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. Testing for Radon January was National Radon Action Month, and Governor Deal has urged ALL Georgians to test their homes. Although Georgia is in the lowest rating level, ground-level homes and those with living areas on a slab may yet be at some risk of radon contamination. Radon, a naturally-occurring gas, can build to dangerous levels in any structure. To order a $10 radon test kit, go to: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/housing/radon/. 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.