About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2022)
Wednesday, September 7,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A Dawson library, parks, other offices request more staff for growth needs [^SONV/^ Come in and see why we have been' Dawsonville’s choice for 75 years! 75TH ANNIVERSARY THANKS FOR ALL THESE YEARS! www.dawsonvillehardware.com By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Many of the Dawson County offices that help residents plan their forever homes or offer children sports and other entertain ment options have one thing in common. During the Board of Commissioners FY2023 budget meetings last week, these departments asked for more staff. Take, for example, the Dawson County Library, located at 342 Allen Street in Dawsonville, and its sat ellite campus at 145 Liberty Drive, next to Fire Station 2. During her Aug. 23 pre sentation, Chestatee Regional Library System Director Leslie Clark point ed to the uptick in people visiting the libraries since the initial COVID-19 shut downs. Clark explained how 635 patrons of all ages came out to the main campus’ June reading and program ming, exceeding the meet ing room capacity of 85 at each event. In June, the main campus saw 4,377 patrons, and the satellite library saw 419, she said. “I wanted to really just show you how this library is impacting our communi ty and the service that it provides with the commu nity being built up around it and then [in] the rest of the county,” Clark added. To alleviate overcrowd ing for the summer pro grams, Clark said the library system will have to book morning and after noon performers, which would be an additional cost of $4,200. Clark requested a part- time staff position for $14,563 to allow the Dawson County Library to remain open until 7 p.m. two nights a week. In August, the library announced that from Sept. 6-Oct. 25, its hours at the main campus will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Another request was $12,001 for 3% cost-of-liv- ing/merit increases for employees. Clark acknowledged that while library staff aren’t county employees, they are funded by the county, so without a budget increase, it would be “nearly impos sible to give staff a raise.” Last year, the Dawson County Library had to close for two Saturdays due to a staffing shortage from employees leaving for posi tions that paid more. While an increase is not a guarantee an employee The Dawson County Library is requesting one part-time position campus can stay open until 7 p.m. two nights a week. Julia Fechter Dawson County News Parks and Rec Director Matt Payne speaks to the board at the Aug. 23 budget hearing. would stay, it “goes a long way toward staff retention,” Clark said. A wage increase on the Dawson side would match an increase given to Lumpkin County library employees in that county’s recently-passed budget, she added. Parks and Rec During the Aug. 23 bud get hearing, Parks and Recreation Director Matt Payne requested a pro grams assistant position at $63,105, calling it “his pri ority.” “We just need more nighttime coverage,” Payne said. “If you’ve been out to the parks anytime on a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday night, you’ll see that it is off the charts with the numbers of people there doing different pro grams.” Participation in long standing rec programs is up 20-25 percent, and that’s before one considers the addition of programs such as lacrosse, high school basketball and oth ers, Payne said. Marshal's office On Aug. 25, the new head of the Marshal’s Office, Angela Byers, requested funds for two new positions. One would be an alcohol license administrator, a role worth $68,819.35 with benefits and equipment. She also asked for another code enforcement officer at a $41,246.40 base salary and $114,364.99 including ben efits, a vehicle and equip ment. In her presentation, Byers cited a growing number of animal control cases, sharing that most of the 24,000-plus people in Dawson County “have at least one pet.” Code cases require meticulous documentation and a minimum of three site visits, with five to seven done on average and even 20-plus visits for cer tain cases, Byers said. “We have 50% more code cases year to date than we had in 2021,” she added. Dawson County is on track to process over 500 alcohol licenses by the end of 2022, and her office is also responsible for recon ciling what alcohol and vape stores have with what’s in the county data base, Byers said. Byers pointed to an increase also in short-term rentals. “We’ve had a 24% increase year to date in short term rentals, even with a change in the ordi nance and going up on the [permit] price,” she said. The marshal’s office has had 50% turnover in “just this year,” Byers said, which limits them when people are out of the office or training. Currently, the office has a backlog of 63 cases. They are at a five-to-seven-day response time for cases DCN file photo in its 2023 budget so that the main instead of a more optimal three-to-four-day timeline, save for something like an emergency dog case that would require a more immediate response, Byers said. She explained that the additional staffing would allow them to get closer to a same-day response time, conduct more of those bi annual alcohol and vape audits and get donation boxes under control. “We all want to get there [to our goals] and we can get there,” said Byers, “but we’re going to need a little help on the employee side in order to get there.” Planning Planning and Development Director Sharon Farrell asked the board for a full-time inspector during her Aug. 25 presentation. This posi tion would have a base sal ary of $41,248 and cost $117,256.79 with benefits, a vehicle and equipment. Farrell called the current inspection workload for her “unacceptable,” and explained that the 18-20 maximum daily inspections are rolling over and multi ple staff are having to divvy up the additional workload. “We’ve had no luck with [filling] the part-time inspector position,” Farrell said. “It’s hard enough to get a full-time inspector.” She also explained that third-party inspectors “are not as popular up here” because the cost for those services is passed on to the homeowner, and county personnel would still have to go out and inspect their work. “Our customers pay for the service (with permit fees) and expect a level of service and the busier we get, that level of service is hard to maintain,” Farrell said. She reasoned the “pres sure on single-family resi dential is likely to continue in the county, with 1,285 vacant plots with addresses and already platted ‘ready to go’.” District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines later asked Farrell for future insight with expected residential development. She explained the demand, albeit changed, is there for homes that per haps have less bedrooms or are a remodeling project. “I think, even with higher interest rates, people need to find a home,” Farrell said. “As everyone says, this is a great place to be.” The Board of Commissioners is sched uled to hold a presentation on its FY2023 budget as a whole on Oct. 6, followed by a series of required hearings on Oct. 20 and Nov. 3. Start earning with Bank OZK today! 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