Effective with the next billing cycle, city residents and businesses will see an increase in their utility bills. Millen City Council approved during its Tuesday, Jan. 8, meeting increases for utility deposits, water/sewer rates, water/sewer tap fees, driveway installations and sanitation fees. An advertisement outlining the new rates appears elsewhere in this issue of The Millen News.

Council members explained that the increased rates were needed to enable the city to recover costs associated with providing utilities and ser- vices. City attorney Hubert Reeves III explained that the city could not operate "in the red" and could not "close down."

"You must take actions to correct the situation," he said.

It was also noted that the city will begin utilizing the On Line Utility Exchange to verify applicants for utilities. Interim city administrator Roland Stubbs explained that the system would allow the city to determine the amount of deposit to charge a new customer based upon their rating within the system. Utilizing this service would enable the city to reduce financial losses, he said.

In other matters, council approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of a Tax Anticipation Note to the lowest bidder, provided miscellaneous fees do not increase the bid to the point that it is higher than the second lowest bidder. It was pointed out that the need for the note was due to the fact that property tax bills were due later than normal this year.

The city attorney was authorized to take the necessary steps to collect delinquent property taxes, including the publication of delinquent taxpayers' names in The Millen News and conducting a Delinquent Tax Sale if necessary.

The mayor and city administrator were authorized to execute a contract with Parker Engineering for services associated with the city sewer improvement project.

City resident Connie Fields complained of "junk" cars located on property adjacent to her home and inquired as to the procedure to follow to file a nuisance complaint.

Other actions taken included the reappointment of Walter Thomas as Mayor Protem; Hubert Reeves III as city attorney and J. Lane Johnson as Municipal Court Judge.