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Barrow ... Journal
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Wednesday, June 10,2009
Vol. 1 No. 33 24 PAGES 3 SECTIONS A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. WINDER, BARROW COUNTY GEORGIA 30680 25?iCOPY
— Inside —
Area news:
^ .^1
•In the kitchen with a
Cook of Barrow County
page 1C
•Auburn to enhance
Burel Park
page 2A
•Winder in the red for
2009
page 2A
BOC OKs sweeping cuts
BY SUSAN NORMAN
The B anow County government
will lay off from 25 to 35 county
employees next Monday — on top of
eight who last week either accepted
voluntary layoffs or agreed to retire.
The move is an effort to stem the
flood of red ink from the county’s
finances. Remaining county employ
ees will face mandated hour and
pay cuts. In a 4-2 vote Tuesday
night, the Barrow County Board of
Commissioners authorized chairman
Danny Yearwood to work out the
details of the sweeping plan to cut
county staffing. No positions were
mentioned. Those being laid off will
be told June 15; the pay cuts are
effective June 27.
The motion on the cuts was made
by Eva Elder and seconded by Billy
Parks. Elder and Parks were joined
by commissioners Larry Joe Wilburn
and Isaiah Berry in voting “yes."
Commissioners Steve Worley and
Ben Hendrix voted “no."
A projected shortfall in the cur
rent fiscal year, which ends Sept.
30, drove the decision to make the
cuts now. The county also faces a $7
million shortfall for FY2010 without
major spending cuts. Yearwood said
before the vote that if the county
didn’t address its financial problems,
property taxes could double later this
year.
THE DEBATE
The BOC faced a sea of county
employees Tuesday night as it debat
ed, postured and commiserated for
about 45 minutes before passing the
cutback resolution.
continued on page 9A
Commission chairman Danny Yearwood (left) along with commis
sion members Isaiah Berry and Billy Parks talk during Tuesday
night’s meeting. Photo by Susan Norman
Opinions:
•Responsibility being
shown by Bethlehem
page 4A
•Are the voters ready
for some action?
page 4A
•Winder: No time for
a rubber stamp
page 4A
•Readers voice their
thoughts: Letters to
the Editor
page 5A
Sports:
•WBHS seniors, teach
ers take to the court
pages IB, 3B
•Holliday inducted into
Hall of Fame
page 1B
•Murphy to compete
for LaGrange College
page 1B
Also Inside:
•Classifieds
page 6C
•Church News
page 7B
•Public Safety
page 6A-7A
•Obituaries
pages 4-5 C
To subscribe,
call today:
770-867-NEWS
(6397).
The Barrow
Journal is
delivered
every
Thursday.
Graduation
THAT TIME OF YEAR
Apalachee High School seniors listen to their graduation ceremony
Friday evening. Photos by Jessica Brown
CELEBRATE
WBHS senior Ashley Sargant
jumps into the arms of principal
Al Darby.
Night
WBHS
AHS
see page 1C for more photos
Employee, salary cuts in Winder?
BY SUSAN NORMAN
Winder’s budget for
FY2010 that begins July 1
projects a continuation of
lower revenues due to the
recession. The proposed
budget also calls for less
spending.
But questions remain
about exactly how the tight
budget will impact employ
ees. City officials have said
there are no pay raises in the
budget, except for several
city council members (see
related story).
The budget draft provided
to the city council on June 1
appears to fund less employ
ees than the city currently
has on payroll.
The new budget allo
cates 189 positions, about
eight less than are currently
employed following the lay
offs earlier this year.
Questions to city officials
from the Journal about some
of the budget details were
not returned as of presstime
Wednesday. The Winder
City Council has not had
any public
discussion .
about the SGG Ill-
budget so
far. The
council is budget
slated to . , ..
hold a pub- details
lie hearing page 3B
on the bud
get June
18 and a take a final vote
June 29 (see related story in
today’s edition.)
continued on page 2A
CRCT math scores show drastic increase
The Barrow County School System saw
some rather dramatic improvements in its
CRCT scores this spring as students improved
performance in most grade levels.
Of key importance, the system saw some
dramatic improvement in its CRCT Math
scores, an area in which it lagged last year.
The system’s Math scores increased over
2008 in all grade levels, although third-grad
ers still fell short of the state average.
continued on page 2A
Now complies with state law
Winder changes
budget process
BY SUSAN NORMAN
The Winder City Council is changing its budget process
to comply with Georgia law following questions about the
process from the Barrow Journal last week.
For the first time in years, the city council will reportedly
attend a public hearing on its annual budget. Whether the
council will “conduct" the June 18 hearing, or just be in
attendance, has not been confirmed.
A public notice posted on the city’s website states that the
City of Winder will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m. June 18
in the council chambers of the community center on East
Athens Street.
The city council now plans to hold its final budget vote at 6
p.m. June 29, at the community center, according to a notice
posted late last week on the city’s website. State law requires
a separation of seven days between the mandatory public
hearing and the budget vote.
State law also requires a copy of the proposed budget to be
made available to the public. City officials have elected not
to post a copy of the document on the city’s website. A paper
copy is available for inspection at City Hall, 45 E. Athens St.,
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, according to
the May 24 public notice.
continued on page 2A
Spending to increase for
Winder mayor, council
Some members to receive raises;
benefit spending set to double
BY SUSAN NORMAN
Winder’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning
July 1 calls for reduced spending in every office except the
mayor and council.
The governing body is the only entity in the city govern
ment that is budgeted to receive more money for salaries,
benefits and operating expenses than was budgeted in the
current fiscal year.
If the proposed budget is adopted June 29, the mayor and
council will have almost $100,000 more resources available
to them.
Their FY2010 departmental budget will be $517,320,
which is 23 percent more than the $421,720 budgeted in the
current fiscal year.
Salary expenditures for the mayor and council will be a
total of $57,000, which is $10,800 more than in FY2009
and more than twice what the mayor and council were paid
in FY2007.
In 2007, the council voted to increase the compensation
of the future mayor and all future council members after
subsequent elections. The mayor's pay rose from $12,000
annually to $21,000. The council members’ pay increased
from $2,400 annually to $6,000 annually following that
vote.
With the additional $10,800 for salaries, all council mem
bers in FY2010 will earn $500 per month instead of $200
per month.
The new budget calls for an even larger increase in the
mayor’s and council’s benefits. That line item will increase
by 98 percent in FY2010 - from the current $72,300 to
$143,100 in FY2010. The budget does not explain why the
benefits are jumping by that amount, though it does state
that health care costs are rising by five percent.
continued on page 2A
