Waynesboro Commission Discusses Recent Complaints of Higher Gas Bills

The Waynesboro City Commission met in regular session on Monday, February 9, 2026, at City Hall in Waynesboro. Commissioners in attendance were Mayor Lynn Warren, Vice Mayor Tony Creasy, Commissioner Jeff Davis, and Commissioner Chris Bevis. City Manager John Hickman, City Attorney Josh Polk, and City Recorder Paige Jackson were also in attendance. Commissioner Jeff Howell was absent.

Following the invocation offered by Mayor Warren and approval of previous minutes, City Manager Hickman began department reports.

Mr. Hickman started off by thanking city utility employees for their hard and diligent work during and after the recent ice storm, which hit the whole county very hard. “Utility employees don’t get enough recognition for the work they do on a regular basis,” said Hickman. “They certainly don’t get enough appreciation for all they do during disastrous events such as the recent ice storm.”

City Manager Hickman pointed out that there was at least one water plant employee at the water plant around the clock during the ice event.

He went on to note that the city was already in the process of picking up residents’ storm debris by appointment. The residents must have the debris at the roadside to be picked up.

Waynesboro City Park, the Sportsplex, and Waynesboro Municipal Golf Course have been closed since the ice storm due to dangerous debris, especially tree limbs that appear ready to fall at any time. City Manager Hickman said there had been two inmate crews working six days per week cleaning up the debris in the three parks, and all were expected to reopen soon. He said the tree limbs and brush collected were being burned behind the maintenance shop. Someone asked if burn permits from the Forestry Department are required within city limits, and Mr. Hickman said they are not. Within Waynesboro city limits, permits are not required; the only requirements are that someone stays with the fire at all times and has an available water source.

City Manager Hickman then distributed a letter to the commissioners that was to be mailed out to all Waynesboro city utility customers last week. Basically, the letter says the sanitation rate increase, which began with the bills for January 2026, was due to the recently imposed tipping fee of five cents per pound for commercial haulers. The main commercial hauler at the Waynesboro transfer station is RaeKar, Inc., the company that is contracted with the cities of Waynesboro, Collinwood, and Clifton to haul residential, light commercial, and regular commercial garbage. The first reading of the Sanitation Rate Increase Ordinance was passed in the last meeting, and the second reading was approved later in this meeting.

The next topic of discussion was in regard to city customer complaints about the increases they are seeing on their natural gas bills. City Manager Hickman said that higher gas bills are due to two factors: more customer consumption and/or an increase in the amount the city has to pay their supplier for the gas. The first factor, more gas consumption (usage) by the customer, is to be expected in extremely cold weather. The second factor, the price the city pays their supplier for natural gas, fluctuates regularly and rarely stays the same for a long period of time.

The City of Waynesboro purchases natural gas from Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corporation (TEAC). TEAC acquires, manages, and finances supplies of natural gas for sale and offers comprehensive natural gas supply, pipeline transportation, and storage management services to the municipalities they serve. Essentially, TEAC finds the most economical source for natural gas, which is something that can and often does vary. Not only can the source of gas vary; the price of natural gas fluctuates based on supply and demand. Therefore, any increase in the price the city pays for natural gas is passed down to the customer. City Manager Hickman offered this comparison: “When you go to the gas station to fill up your car, you will more than likely pay either more or less than you did the last time,” said Hickman. “This is because the price of oil/gasoline fluctuates regularly, affecting what you pay at the pump.”

City Manager Hickman also noted that although the city adds a markup percentage to natural gas bills, that percentage has not been raised in ten months. It has been explained that the markup is to cover the employee salaries and other costs that are paid out of the gas fund in the budget.

Following the natural gas discussion, Mr. Hickman told the commission that the city had been awarded the firefighter equipment grant once again. This year, it is in the amount to $46,149. The purchases and equipment upgrades made with these grant funds will bring down the city’s ISO rating, resulting in lower residential insurance rates.

Department heads were present at the meeting to give quarterly department reports. Public Works Director Tony Devers told the commission that a few major projects had been completed, including the sewer line rehab on Dexter Woods Memorial Boulevard and the water line replacement on Wayne Street. He said they were in the process of installing new water modules, the components that allow them to read water meters electronically.

Devers went over the number of work orders received and what they were for in the Streets, Gas, Water, and Sewer Departments. He said there were fortunately no major line breaks or leaks during the recent ice storm and freezing temperatures.

Water Department Supervisor Tim Wallace provided some statistics to the commission. He said the plant pumped 109 million gallons of water since July 2025, while between 2.8 million and 3 million gallons leaked during the same time period. He mentioned some parts at the plant that need to be replaced with some already being fabricated.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Alan McCall also provided statistics to the commission, stating the plant had treated 73 million gallons since July 2025. He said the plant was out of compliance with state regulations for a few months last year because the required amount of solids to be removed was not met. In September 2025, the #2 basin was installed, and in October, refurbishment began on the #1 basin. Between one hundred and one hundred twenty-five yards of solids and debris were removed, correcting the problem and placing the plant back in compliance. City Manager Hickman pointed out that the debris removal seems to have solved the issue of the odor coming from the plant.

Police Chief Walter Smith was up next with statistics from October 1 to present. Call volume was 979 total, including 12 for burglary/theft and 11 domestic calls. Officers made 547 traffic stops and issued 383 citations. He said his department was very busy during the ice storm and made approximately 125 welfare checks. He thanked Bundrant’s Car Care for keeping a fuel reserve for first responders.

Chief Smith went on to inform the commission that the Waynesboro Police Department now provides fingerprinting services for the public, such as those required for certain jobs. A standard fingerprinting and background check is $37.15, while the same service for those wishing to adopt or become foster parents is $154.00 each.

City Recorder Paige Jackson said that $607,000 in property taxes had been billed from City Hall with $509,000 already collected.

The first item of new business on the agenda was the second reading of the Sanitation Rate Increase Ordinance. The new rates for city customers are as follows: residential - $17.24, light commercial - $23.87, additional can - $12.83, and dumpster - $10 added per month. Commissioner Davis made a motion to approve the second reading of the ordinance, and Vice Mayor Creasy seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Police Chief Smith said there is a problem with people dumping illegally in city dumpsters. Anyone caught dumping in a city dumpster who is not a city taxpayer will be charged with theft of services, which carries a $235 fine. City residents may dump in the city dumpsters as long as they are not dumping construction materials.

Next on the agenda was the Election Ordinance. This ordinance states that a City Election for three seats on the Waynesboro City Commission will be held on August 6, 2026. Vice Mayor Creasy made a motion to approve the Election Ordinance, and Commissioner Davis seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

The final item of new business on the agenda was the approval of surplus items. City Manager Hickman asked for approval to surplus an abandoned vehicle in the impound lot that had been there for over 90 days, along with some various outdated computer equipment. The vehicle and all other items were approved as surplus and will be sold on govdeals.com.

With no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned.