About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2019)
Wednesday, July 24,2019 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 9A What Sewell plans to do if he’s elected sheriff By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com Marcus Sewell, a long time resident of Dawson County, launched his Facebook page, Marcus Sewell for Sheriff, last week which officially announced his campaign for the May 2020 elec tion. From 2005 until 2009, Sewell worked for the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office as a jail deputy then was promoted to sergeant before transferring to the patrol division. In 2009, Sewell accepted a position as assistant jail commander in the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office. From there, Sewell served as Jail Commander, Special Services Commander (overseeing drug investiga tions, K9 deputies, school resource officers, victims advocate and animal con trol) and currently serves as Commander of Criminal Investigations. Sewell said he decided to run for sheriff about 18 months ago after feeling it was the path God was putting him on. “People ask me why I want to do this because there’s no fame in this and I tell people ‘I’ve got a servant’s heart,”’ Sewell said. “I serve my God, I serve my family and I serve my community.” Sewell said his bid for sheriff isn’t about him; it’s about the people of Dawson County. “I believe that I bring a great deal of leadership and experience to this agency and I’m vested here,” Sewell said. “I believe in bringing the community and the sher iff’s office together.” One of his primary con cerns he would address if elected as the next sheriff would be the office’s bud get and finding ways to streamline the agency to make it as efficient as possible. “The budget is a huge concern because every dol lar in the budget represents the taxpayers,” Sewell said. “You as a citizen want to make sure that that penny, quarter, dollar is spent in the best interest for you.” Sewell said he would be strategic with the budget and be a good steward of taxpayer dollars, making sure he prioritizes the needs of the office over the wants. The first need, and most important need of the office, according to Sewell, is paying officers a fair wage and retaining officers in the department. “I believe in taking care of them and paying them a fair wage,” Sewell said. “You can do that when you adjust your manage ment of your positions, where you streamline your agency, make it more efficient and put the money back in the pock ets of the men and women of your depart ment.” Sewell also said he would not spend any of the budget on community events. Instead, money for community events, programs and charities would be raised by the sheriff’s office. “I do not believe in using tax dollars in your budget for community events, whether it’s Shop with a Cop, or a dinner or any of that. I believe per sonally that money should be raised by the sheriff’s office,” Sewell said. Community involve ment is very important for Sewell as he hopes to not only keep current commu nity events in place, but also expand upon certain initiatives and implement some of his own. Ideally, Sewell would like to cre ate a Citizens Advisory Service Board for gradu ates of the Citizens Law Enforcement Academy that would like to continue their involvement with the sheriff’s office. The board could help fundraise for charity events, provide meals for the deputies and help at local events, some thing Sewell has seen great success in while serving in Lumpkin County. Sewell has lived in Dawson County since 1989, having moved here at the age of nine. He is married to Amber, who is a nurse at Mount Sinai Wellness Center. They have two children: Tristan, 8, and Alena, 4. Sewell is a home pastor at Harvest Baptist Church. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends and being involved with community sports either as a player or coach. “I’m not perfect, never said I was perfect. I got flaws like anybody else, probably more flaws. But I know where my heart is and it’s with Dawson County,” Sewell said. “I ask for their vote and their support, but most importantly ask for prayers for me and my family.” FROM 1A Etowah pay, dating back to 2016, when Johnson unsuccessfully sued the county over funding. Before the Sheriff even began his request, Board of Commissioners Chairman Billy Thurmond spoke up. “After looking at this action further, the fact that you have the authority to give them that raise without coming to this Board — there’s really no need for this board to take action or vote on that, because it’s well within your authority to do so,” said Thurmond. Dawson County District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines also chimed in on the subject. “This whole Board respects our law enforcement,” said Gaines. “In this par ticular situation, it’s not our call. As we go into budget season, we will take any thing into consideration when we see what our revenues are going to be. “You have every right to do what you need to do within your own department with the resources you’ve been allocat ed,” Gaines added. The Sheriff, for his part, remained optimistic. “We were looking for a long-term commitment (of funding from the Board), but I respect the Board’s ability to not to be able to forecast that far along,” said Johnson. “My concern, and obviously we want to caution our folks, is that if we get a raise, we may have something we need to buy and then we’re committed to that, and most raises don’t come with a termination date on it. So we want to really caution our folks to be careful through the end of the year and see how the next budget cycle pro cess goes.” “But thankfully,” Johnson added, “we’re close to the budget process or we’ve started the budget process already, so hopefully the funds will be there in 2019 to carry this on. It (a raise for police officers) is a win for Dawson County. From a recruiting standpoint, from a retention standpoint, we’re in a lot better shape than we were.” At the 4 p.m. work session, much of the focus turned to a proposed updated to the county fee schedule — the list of fees charged for things like building per mits and business licenses. According to the presentation given to the Board of Commissioners by Planning and Development Director Jameson Kinley, most of Dawson County’s current fees are significantly lower than those in surrounding counties. For example, a commercial building per mit for a new 4,000-sq.-ft. building costs $480 in Dawson County. The same permit costs $1,200 in Lumpkin County, $960 in Hall County, and $850 in Union County. White County’s permit also costs $480. This proposed increase in fees is in direct response to the recent lowering of the county impact fees — the fees paid by businesses to offset the financial impact to the county for necessary increases in public services. Impact fees were lowered earlier this year to bring them in line with neighbor ing counties. One of the main differences between impact fees and other fees placed on businesses is that impact fees can only be used for very specific purposes related to individual projects. These other permit ting and licensing fees go into the general budget to be used as the county sees fit. “These rates have not been reviewed in almost 20 years and are well below the rates that are charged in the counties around us,” said Gaines. “This simply gets us in line and provides some addi tional funding to address increased needs.” \ Tired of Atlanta traffic. why not work where you live? M w v v \ Established HVAC company in Dahlonega is hiring an installer for full time position. Top Pay based on ^^9 99 9L99 I experience, with potential to earn $20-$25/hour. Employer provides company vehicle, competitive pay ^^9 9 9 9 ^9 0 J ar| d benefits after 90 days including health insurance, paid holidays, and 401 k.Applicant must be drug free, have a clean driving record and pass a criminal records check. We are looking for employees who desire to work in a fast paced environment that provides competitive pay and job stability. 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