Newspaper Page Text
The Houston Home Journal
VOL. 104 NO. 22
Petitions Circulating
Effort Underway
In WR To Move
The County Seat
Petitions calling for
referendum to move the
County Seat from Perry to
Warner Robins showed up in
several locations in Warner
Robins this week and ac
cording to reports about 2,000
signatures are now on the
lists.
According to a source in
Warner Robins, the petitions
are being circulated because
the rumor that a group of
private citizens in Perry are
making plans to file a legal
suit against the Houston
County Commissioners to
determine the legality of
Money Being Sought Here?
County Legal Suit
Rumored By Perryans
Rumors have circulated all
Houston County this
week that a group of citizens
in Perry are raising money to
finance a legal suit against the
Houston County Com
missioners to determine the
legality of operating and
constructing county con
stitutional offices in other than
the County Seat of Perry.
Mayor James McKinley told
The Home Journal a number
of people in Perry and south
Houston County have
discussed the possibility of a
legal suit with him but that he
is not “personally” involved.
He also said he has not been
asked for a donation to any
legal fund.
McKinley told The Home
Journal, “1 don’t feel I can
donate to any kind of legal
fund because if such a suit is
filed it should be initiated and
earned out by the people of
“All In How You Look At It”
Most Taxes Paid In
V
| North - South Houston ? |
v It has been well said that a
clever person can use
v statistics to prove anything.
$ Just as quotes out of context
can relay just the opposite
meaning from what was said,
so can ill-used figures convey
totally wrong impressions.
And, in an article in this
Monday’s edition of the
Warner Robins daily
newspaper, figures seem to
give the wrong impression.
•J*
•j: These figures say that north
flouston County pays over 70
percent of the county’s real
•j: estate. Well, as one wag would
say, it’s all in how you look at
it. To obtain the 70 percent
•;< figures, the Warner Robins
1 paper made use of figures
I S supplied by Tax Com
Perry And Houston County's Independent Newspaper With An Independent Voice
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA. THURS., MAY 30. 1974
operating dual county offices
in both Perry and Warner
Robins and to halt the
proposed construction of a $2
million plus county annex in
Warner Rabins. However, the
rumor that such a group has
organized in Perry is not yet
founded since no one has come
forward and made any plans
for a legal action known to the
public.
The source of the Warner
Robins petitions remains a
mystery. The Home Journal
talked with a number of
Warner Robins civic and
business leaders this week to
south Houston County who are
concerned about the trends of
recent developments.”
A Warner Robins County
official, who did not want to be
identified, told The Home
Journal, “If the people go
ahead with this suit they are
talking about I am sure the
people up here in Warner
Robins will push just as hard
as they can on getting these
petitions ready for the August
primary ballot and people up
here feel like they can get
enough votes to move the
County Seat. These people up
here are stirred up and they
are ready to get out and
work.”
When asked about Warner
Robins Mayor Ed Bryant’s
announcement that he would
lead the fight to move the
courthouse if people in Perry
file a legal petition, Perry
Mayor James McKinley said,
“I do not want to get into a
missioner Joyce Griffin’s
office. The key is that the
figures came off the computer
printout dated April, 1974, and
represent the value of real
estate as of April 19, 1974 -
NOT August 27,1973 - the date
when 1973 tax digest figures
were reached and filed by the
Tax Commission! From
August 27, 1973, when the tax
digest (net taxable real
property) was $132,629,740.00
until April 19 of this year
(when the tax digest was
$153,132,399) the value of real
estate in Houston County rose
almost 21 million dollars!
But using the April 19, 1974,
figures supplied by the Tax
Commission, a close scrutiny
reveals other “questionable”
assumptions by the Warner
■ttX'X'X'X'X'X'^X'X'X'X-X-XvXvXv
determine who initiated the
petitions but no one would
admit they knew. However,
one source mentioned an
attorney’s name in Warner
Robins whom he said drew the
legal document for the
petitioners.
One County official, who
asked that his name be
withheld, told The Home
Journal, “I knew this was
coming. The Mayor in Perry
and others have been talking
about filing a suit to bring all
the offices back to the cour
thouse in Perry and the people
up here in Warner Robins just
running battle with Mayor
Bryant in the news media. At
this time I will remain out of
this question. It is not, nor has
it ever been, my intention to
swap criticisms with anyone.
Let’s just see what happens.”
One source in Warner
Robins told The Home Journal
Wednesday that he believes
the petitions now circulating
are only away of Warner
Robins sending a “message”
to southern Houston residents
that if a legal suit is filed, “a
big push” to get an election
will be called. He indicated
that if all talk of the legal suit
is dropped in Perry, the
petitions might disappear.
In the meantime, it is very
likely support for a legal suit
in the Perry area may be
building. Rumors are that
more than $6,000 has already
been raised for legal and court
costs and that more money is
being pledged.
Robins writer. First of all, he
labels Bonaire-Kathleen as in
the northern part of the
county. In reality, Bonaire
straddles Highway 96, and
Kathleen is several miles
south of Bonaire on Highway
247! So shouldn't this area be
included in that section of
south Houston County? (The
Bonaire-Kathleen tax digest
property as of April 19 was
over four million dollars -
$4,557, 547.00.)
Looking deeper, land
district number 10 is listed as
“North of Warner Robins”. In
reality, land district 10 is
south of Warner Robins and
north of Perry! It, too, falls in
the category of perhaps
belonging in "south” Houston
County Its net taxable value
aren’t going to sit still for that.
I can tell you one thing,
though, they might file a suit
and the offices might come
back to Perry for a while, but
eventually the people up here
will vote to move the County
Seat and Perry won’t have
anything then. At least the
people in Perry have a piece of
the pie now and if the County
Seat is moved they won’t have
any of the pie.”
In order to call a referen
dum to move the County Seat,
forty percent of the County’s
registered voters must sign a
petition calling for the elec
tion. In Houston there are
22,970 registered so that 9,190
persons would be required to
sign the petitions. In the ac
tual referendum, two-thirds
(66 2/3) percent) of the voters
voting in the election would be
required to favor moving the
County Seal. If that was done,
the Houston County
Legislative Delegation then
would have to introduce a bill
in the next session of the
Georgia General Assembly
calling for the moving of the
County Seat.
The Home Journal also
learned those behind the
petitions in Warner Robins
hope to get enough names on
the petitions to call the
election by the primaries in
Houston County this August.
In that event, the question
would appear on the August
ballot here.
Reaction in Perry to the
petitions was generally that a
vote on the controversial
question may be the right step
at this time. Most feel it would
be difficult to get two-thirds of
those voting in an election to
cast their ballot in favor of
moving the County Seat,
basically because of the costs
that would be involved and the
looming possibility of a major
tax boost to finance the
moving and new construction
process.
as of April 19 of this year was J:J
$10,719,868.00! !•!
Taking these two areas and
moving them into the south
Houston County column
produces a quite different
picture. Gone is the 70 percent v
of taxes “paid" by north
Houston County. The truer
figures are closer to 60 percent
- leaving south Houston doling
out 40 percent (quite close to
the 44 percent reported by the x
HHJ in March of this yean, ||;
Also to be kept in mind is that
these “current values” are not
what the 1973 tax bills came :j:
from - the 1973 tax bills came ij:
as a result of the August 1973 :j:
figures on file in the record £
room of the Houston County
Courthouse in Perry.
1 ■■■■
f ; | J X . ■min ■!
IB JBHHHHIHHHi
First Forum Draws Slim Crowd
Perry merchants are shown here as they
prepare to take part in the first of a series of
forums on “downtown area revitalization’’. The
second in the series will begin tonight ( Thursday)
at 7:30 P.M. in the County Agriculture Building
Merchants Urged To Attend
Downtown Forums
Continue Tonight
The first in a series of
forums on downtown
revitalization were held here
Tuesday night by officials
from the University of
Georgia School of Business. A
small group of Perry mer
chants were in attendance to
listen to new ideas and con
structive criticism as to how
they can better operate their
business.
The forums are the results
of a recent survey taken here
by the Chamber of Commerce
and the University of Georgia
to determine the Perry con
sumers attitudes towards the
downtown area shopping
facilities.
Tuesday’s topics were,
“Environmental Aspects of
Downtown Revitalization”
and “The Tourist Market”.
Tonight's forum (Thursday)
will begin at 7:30 P.M. at the
County Agriculture Building.
The topics will be “Effective
Advertising” and “Designing
the Advertisement”. This
program will be presented by
Ronald Lane of the University
of Georgia School of Jour
nalism and is designed to
assist merchants and
businessmen in helping to
better promote their business
and to plan promotions.
Chamber President Harold
Jennings said, “We want to
urge all businessmen and
interested persons in Perry to
attend these helpful and in
formative forums. They are
being held for the benefit of
Perry business men and
women and we hope everyone
will lake advantage of them.”
After tonight’s program, the
next forum will be held next
Tuesday night, June 4, at the
County' Agriculture Building
and the featured programs
will be “A Fresh Look at
Retailing” and “Retailing
Suggestions for Perry” On
Thursday, June 6, the forum
will be on “Store Layout and
Merchandising” and the final
half of the program will
feature the beginning of a
wrap-up on the survey results
in ‘‘Report on Consumer
Attitudes Toward Downtown
Robins Mayor Will
Lead County Seat Fight
Warner Robins Mayor Ed
Bryant, in an interview with
The Home Journal this week
concerning the petitions
circulating in his community
over calling an election to
move the County Seat from
Perry to Warner Robins, said,
"If people in Perry, or a
group, files a petition to have
all the County offices moved
back to Perry and thereby
denying the people of Warner
Robins the services they
deserve as taxpayers and
pushing comes to shoving, I’ll
do a lot of pushing and shoving
to lead the fight over here to
get up the petitions and see if
we can’t move the whole thing
to Warner Robins.” .
Mayor Bryant further
stated, “I feel the people up
here are entitled to the ser
vices of the County and if the
shoe was on the other fool I
would feel the same about
Perry. I also think basically
the people of Warner Robins
are happy with the County
services they are now getting,
but if there is a threat of
taking some of those services
away I think the people her?
will fight to keep those ser
vices and if necessary move
the County Seat up here if it
gets down to that.”
Bryant said he had talked
with a number of people who
had told him about the
petitions but said he had no
idea who was responsible for
circulating the petitions,
which are now in a number of
stores and office buildings in
here. All merchants, property owners and in
terested persons are urged by the Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce to attend. Two University
of Georgia business school associate professors
shown here are Wesley Clonts (L) and John
Waters.
Perry”. The final two
programs will be presented on
Tuesday, June 11, with a
continuation of the “Report
Warner Robins.
Bryant told The Home
Journal he has been “tight
lipped” about the recent
controversy over whether or
not an election should be
called to move the County Seat
but he said in view of the
rumors that a group in Perry
is raising funds to file a legal
suit against the Houston
County Commissioners to
determine the legality of
constitutional officers
Walker Responds
To Controversy
State Representative Larry
Walker of Perry this week put
the blame for much of the
current controversy over the
County Seal question on a
“lack of communication
between people in northern
and southern Houston
County.”
Rep. Walker said, “I think
too many people at both ends
of the County carry on their
communications via the news
media rather than person to
person. I think one of the
crying needs in the County is a
better communication bet
ween the Houston County
Commissioners and the three
municipalities in the County.
Many times in the County, one
elected body seems to un
derstand a matter completely
differently than does another
governmental body and this is
On Consumer Attitudes” and
with “Recommendation for
Action”.
operating full time other than
in the County Seat,he said he is
forced to express his views
and take a stand on the
matter.
He further added, “This is
something that affects the
people of Warner Robins and
as Mayor, I feel I must look
out for the best interest of the
taxpayers of Warner Robins
and certainly taking away any
of the County services we now
have is not in their best in
terest,”
due simply to a lack of com
munication.”
Walker further stated, “I
think it is unfortunate we are
now involved in this con
troversy over moving the
County Seat but perhaps it
should be voted on now and
clear the air. Then we could go
on from there and try to open
up new lines of com
munications and work
together.”
“I certainly think the people
in Warner Robins are entitled
to their fair share of County
services,” Walker stated,
“and I would hope they feel
the same way about Perry. I
don’t think anyone in Perry or
south Houston County has
ever thought or proposed that
the needed County services in
Warner Robins be taken away
from the taxpayers up there.”